A gallantry award-winning army officer and three other soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with terrorists in the Hafrada forests of Kupwara district, defence forces said on Sunday. Six militants were also killed in the encounter which has been going on since Friday.
Major Mohit Sharma, 31, from Ghaziabad, was a para commando and a recipient of the Sena Medal for gallantry in 2004. He had won the medal for an anti-insurgency operation he led in the Kashmir. His wife Reshmi is also a major working in the Army Service Corps.
The three other soldiers who lost their lives were identified as havildar Sanjay Singh, lance naik Anil Kumar, and paratrooper Netar Singh.
The operation started on Friday after the army was tipped off about militants hiding in Drangyari Chowkibal. The area was cordoned off and three extremists were killed in the ensuing gunbattle. The focus shifted to Tangdhar on Saturday following information about the presence of more militants in the area.
“In addition to three terrorists killed on March 20 in Drangyari Chowkibal, the army killed one more terrorist on March 21 in Tangdhar,” said colonel DK Kachari, spokesman for the army’s northern command.
From Tangdhar, the scene of action shifted to the Hafrada forests. Militants opened fire on the troops, killing the major and three other soldiers, and injuring three others. In the action, the troops killed two more militants, taking the total toll of terrorists to six.
None of the militants killed in the encounter has been identified yet. A defence spokesman in Srinagar said. “It is not yet known whether the militants were fresh infiltrators or belong to the already existing lot.”
The bodies of the martyred soldiers have been airlifted to their respective homes.
