Agencies
New Delhi, Oct 23: The Indian Army on Sunday paid tribute to Havaldar Darpan Pradhan who made the supreme sacrifice on October 21 while deployed on the Siachen Glacier.
Earlier in August, the Northern Command of the Indian Army recovered the mortal remains of a soldier after 38 years, who went missing during ‘Operation Meghdoot’ in 1984.
‘Operation Meghdoot’, the code-name for an Indian armed forces operation, was launched 38 years ago on April 13.
Launched in 1984 to capture the Siachen Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir, precipitating the Siachen conflict, this military operation was unique as the first assault was launched at the world’s highest battlefield. The military action resulted in Indian troops gaining control of the entire Siachen Glacier. The Indian Army said that Lance Naik late Chander Sekhar had been missing since May 29, 1984 in Siachen.
“LNk (Late) Chander Shekhar was identified with the help of the identification disk bearing his Army number which was entangled along with the mortal remains,” it said, adding that further details were recovered from official Army records.
According to the Indian Army’s records, the late soldier had been deployed for Operation Meghdoot at Gyongla Glacier in 1984.
“A patrol of Indian Army recovered the mortal remains of LNk (Late) Chander Shekhar who was missing since 29 May 1984 while deployed at glacier due to an avalanche,” the Northern Command of Indian Army said in a tweet.
The Siachen Glacier is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since 1984. Both countries maintain a permanent military presence in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft). More than 2,000 soldiers people have died in this inhospitable terrain, mostly due to weather extremes and the natural hazards of mountain warfare. |
