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| More troops rushed to Mendhar's Beri Rakh woods to hunt down ultras | | An army Maj was killed and a Col hurt in militants' ambush | |
EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, July 14: Reinforcements had been rushed to the thick and treacherous Beri Rakh forests of Mendhar in Poonch to hunt down the six odd holed up terrorists, who Tuesday night killed an army Major and injured six others, including a Colonel, in an ambush.
The terrorists, all stated to have infiltrated into India from across the Line of Control (LoC), last night made two attempts to break the army cordon, but troops foiled them.
Official sources said the gunbattle, which stopped late last night, restarted at 7 am today.
The intermittent exchange of fire continued till 4 pm after which there was no fire from the other side, the sources added.
Sources said Romeo Force GOC, Maj Gen K AS Bhullar was personally supervising the operation.
The militants, said to be foreigners in the age group of 18-21 years, were frequenting the area for the past few days and locals had sighted them several times.
Acting on these inputs, which were substantiated by intelligence reports, two groups of 37 Rashtriya Rifles, one led by Maj Amit Kumar Thenge and the other by Col Ajay Katoch, started a combing operation in Beri Rakh forests last evening.
Sources said while leaving for the operation, Maj Amit had told his colleagues that this time he would come back only after killing the terrorists.
Luck had, however, something else in store for him. Sources said while combing the densely forested area, the party led by Maj Amit came under militants' attack as a result of which he along with some jawans sustained critical injuries.
The Major later succumbed to his injuries. He hailed from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh.
As visibility was very poor, Col Katoch, who was leading the second party, too was ambushed by the hiding terrorists, the sources added.
The Colonel's condition was stated to be out of danger. Five jawans also sustained injuries in the twin terror attacks. They were identified as Naik Jasbir Singh, sepoy Sunil Kumar, rifleman Basharat Hussain and signalmen -- Dinesh Kumar and Satinder Kumar. All of them were hospitalised.
Sources said the bulk of injuries to the army personnel were due to hand grenades lobbed by the terrorists.
After inflicting casualties on troops, the militants tried to flee but forces foiled their attempt by laying a cordon around the area and plugging escape routes.
The exchange of fire between the two sides continued for few hours after which the militants' guns fell silent.
Sources said the firing re-erupted at about 7 am today and continued till 4 pm. The militants had not fired a shot after 4 pm, the sources added.
Reinforcements were rushed to the woods late this evening. Sources said the troops had started closing in on the area where militants were suspected to have taken positions.
The possibility of the militants having taken positions in concrete bunkers was also not ruled out. These bunkers were built by army in the 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, the sources added, saying some of them must be existing there.
Asked if any of the terrorists had been killed, defence PRO, Lt Col Biplab Nath said army would be in a position to confirm it only after it recovered their bodies.
"They are trying to flee, but forces have blocked all escape routes," he said and added, "They are definitely there."
Col Biplab said the troops' movement was slow because of the difficult terrain.
"We are hoping to get them at the right time at the right place," he asserted.
He said the area where the encounter took place was thickly forested with thick secondary undergrowth. The terrorists took advantage of hides and thus caused casualties among the forces, he added.
Born on April 19, 1982, Maj Thenge was commissioned in the Corps of Signals on June 9, 2007.
The defence PRO said the young officer had always set the highest standards of junior leadership, courage for his subordinates and was a major source of motivation for all. He volunteered for the elite PARA (SF) and was to leave for his probation in the coming months, he informed.
He sacrificed his life, but left for the rest of his comrades a unique example of supreme bravery and determined cold courage. The country would be proud of young leaders like him who helped in keeping the citizens of the nation safe from harm that the terrorists today were perpetrating on all irrespective of colour, creed or religion, he added.
He is survived by his parents and a younger brother.
A wreath laying ceremony to pay homage to Maj Amit Thenge who sacrificed his life while battling terrorists will be held tomorrow at Rehari (near PRO Office). The tentative timing of the proceedings is 11:30 am.
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