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Rajouri encounter: Indian Army, J-K Police pay tributes to 5 soldiers
Soldiers who died fighting terrorists were captain MV Pranjal, captain Shubham Gupta, havaldar Abdul Majid, lance naik Sanjay Bist and paratrooper Sachin Laur.
The Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday morning paid floral tributes to five soldiers who were killed in an encounter in Rajouri district.
Two terrorists, including a top Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander trained in Afghanistan, and five soldiers, including two captains, were killed in a 36-hour-long gunfight with security forces on Wednesday and Thursday in the Bajimaal area of Darmsal.
A wreath-laying ceremony was organised by the army at Army General Hospital Rajouri in which the General Officer Commanding Romeo Force and other officers and police officials laid wreaths and paid tributes to the martyred army men.
Those who laid down their lives fighting terrorists were Captain MV Pranjal (63 RR) of Mangalore area of Karnataka, Captain Shubham Gupta (9 Para) of Agra of Uttar Pradesh, Havaldar Abdul Majid (Para) of Ajote in Poonch, J-K; Lance Naik Sanjay Bist of Halli Padli area of Nainital, UK and Paratrooper Sachin Laur of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh.
Captain Pranjal is survived by his wife Aditi G, while Capt Gupta leaves behind his father Basant Kumar Gupta.
Havaldar Majid is survived by his wife Sagera Bi and three children, while Lance Naik Bisht and Paratrooper Laur leave behind their mothers Manju Devi and Bhagvati Devi, respectively.
The mortal remains of the martyred army personnel are being sent to their native places for last rites.
The encounter broke out between terrorists and a joint team of the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police in the Bajimaal area of Dharamsala.
While the forces suffered five casualties on its side, two terrorists, including a top LeT commander and sniper, identified as Quari, were also neutralised on Thursday.
The Army said that it recovered large quantities of 'War Like Stores' from the encounter site.
Quari was infamous for orchestrating several attacks, including the Dangri incident, where six innocent civilians lost their lives on January 23, and the Kandi attacks in Rajouri's Poonch areas.
His elimination marks a significant blow to the revival of terrorism in these districts, according to an army official.
(With inputs from agencies)
