India 'gave befitting reply' to soldier beheading

The Indian Army gave "a befitting reply" to Pakistan after an Indian soldier was beheaded along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, outgoing army chief General Bikram Singh said on Thursday.

The Indian Army gave "a befitting reply" to Pakistan after an Indian soldier was beheaded along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, outgoing army chief General Bikram Singh said on Thursday.

"The Indian Army gave a befitting reply to Pakistan" after the Pakistanis carried out the beheading, he said in New Delhi, referring to the gory incident of January 2013.

"We are carrying out tactical operations at the LoC (Line of Control). It is an ongoing process and our soldiers are doing their job," General Bikram Singh said.

He described the Indian Army as "a robust organisation, very very accountable, very responsive, very potent and a very relevant instrument of national power with the capability to take up any challenges".

On Jan 8, 2013, Pakistani soldiers sneaked into Indian territory in Krishna Ghati sector of the border and killed two Indian soldiers. Indian officials said both bodies were mutilated, and one decapitated.

Two other soldiers were injured in the incident which triggered nationwide fury.

Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag takes over as the new army chief on Thursday.