Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi today visited the Kalakote area in Rajouri where 5 Army personnel including two captains and two non-locals were killed in a 30-hour-long operation.
Army officials said that Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi took stock of the situation following the bloody encounter and lauded the role of those who participated in this gun battle.
They said that Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi was apprised about the current situation.
The Army Commander felicitated the gallant troops and Army Dog ‘Domino’ for successful operation in the most difficult terrain and harsh weather conditions.
Earlier, while talking to reporters, Northern Army Commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi said that some militants, who crossed over, are retired Pakistani soldiers. In response to a question, the Army Commander said: “When we tried to ascertain the identification of these slain militants, we found that some of them are retired Pakistani soldiers. Since there are no local recruits Pakistan sends its people here. We are trying to eliminate all the foreign militants,” he said.
Pertinently two non-local militants and 5 soldiers were killed in this operation whom army identified as Captain M V Pranjal from Mangalore, Karnataka; Captain Shubham Gupta from Agra, UP; Havildar Abdul Majid from Ajote, Poonch; Lance Naik Sanjay Bisht from Nainital, Uttarakhand and paratrooper Sachin Laur from Aligarh, UP. [KNT]