- Wednesday, April 16, 2025
By: indiaweekly.biz Staff
In a supreme display of valour, five Indian Army commandos braved inclement weather, eight-foot-deep snow and low visibility to neutralise five Jaish-e-Muhammad terrorists in the higher reaches of north Kashmir, before falling to enemy fire on Saturday (4).
The squad of 4-Para Regiment—living up to its war cry of “Balidaan Parma Dharam (Sacrifice is ultimate duty)”—had carried out the operation last week.
The squad was deployed after reports came in about a possible infiltration by a group of terrorists in the Keran sector of Kupwara district in the early hours of April 2, senior officers said.
Initial recce could not confirm whether the infiltrators had returned to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir or were hiding in the heights taking advantage of low visibility and a thick cover of snow-capped pine trees near the Line of Control after being spotted.
But from early hours of April 3, troops on vigil noticed movement along some ‘Gujjar Dhoks’ (temporary shelters of nomads used during the summer).
A Special Forces squad drawn from 4-Para Regiment reached the heights of Shamsabari range so that the terrorists could be trapped by Army teams from top and bottom of the hills.
The descend of the Special Forces squad from Shamsabari Range on April 4 was spotted by the terrorists holed up in the ‘dhoks’, ensuing an exchange of heavy gun fire.
Subedar Sanjeev Kumar (hailing from Himachal Pradesh), Haveldar Davendra Singh (Uttarakhand), para troopers Bal krishan (Himachal Pradesh), Amit Kumar (Uttarakhand) and Chhatrapal Singh (Rajasthan) made their sledge fall on the ‘dhok’ to allow the other unit to hit the terrorists.
The officials said that the five troopers with the help of other squads neutralised the five infiltrating terrorists.
The subedar was dead during the intense gunfight while the four others succumbed either on way to hospital or at the 92-base hospital, they said.
A defence spokesperson said, “Indian Army launched a daring operation at the Line of Control and engaged Pakistan-supported infiltrators in a close quarter battle in heavy snow, neutralising the entire infiltrating batch of five.”
“Four soldiers under the command of a Junior Commissioned Officer from one of the most professional Para SF Units were heli-dropped near the LoC after information on the infiltrators was received. An intense hand-to-hand battle ensued and all five terrorists were eliminated,” the spokesperson said.
A huge quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from the site of the encounter besides communication sets which were being analysed, they added.
A wreath-laying ceremony was held at the headquarters of XV Corps where Lieutenant General BS Raju gave glowing tributes to the brave soldiers. Later their mortal remains were despatched to their respective homes in an Indian Air Force plane.
“Indian Army salutes the brave hearts killed in action and shall continue to protect its borders from inimical forces at all costs at all times,” the spokesperson said.
