Shaheed Lt Amit
Bharadwaj
Body
of Lt Bharadwaj, five others recovered
New Delhi, July 14 (HT Correspondent)
The
Indian Army today recovered the mortal remains of six soldiers of 4 jat
battalion, including that of Lt Amit Bharadwaj, while re-occupying Bajrang
post in the Kaksar sub-sector.
The
six soldiers had been missing since May 17. An Indian Army spokesman said
the bodies were discovered while searching the positions vacated by the
retreating Pakistan Army. Lt Bharadwaj and his men were among the first
to encounter the enemy in the Kargil sector. He led the patrol after Captain
Saurav Kalia and his men from the same unit went missing in the Kaksar
area on May 8 near Bajrang post.
It
is understood that the bodies of Lt Bharadwaj and his men could be seen
lying in the vicinity of Bajrang post but could not be recovered due to
heavy enemy fire. According to the spokesman, the Indian troops were in
the process of verifying enemy withdrawal and occupying designated heights
closer to the LoC in the Kargil sector. He said in the past 24 hours, enemy
continued with intermittent artillery shelling in Dras sector in which
one Indian soldier died. The Army spokesman took the opportunity to point
out that former Pakistan Army Chief Mirza Aslam Beg has stated that 40
Pakistan Army officers have been killed in Kargil mis-adventure.
Meanwhile,
General V P Malik, Chief of Army Staff, has awarded the Chief of Staff
Banner to the Ladakh Scouts in acknowledgement of the outstanding valour,
sacrifice and patriotism displayed by it during Operation Vijay. The Banner
shall be presented to the Ladakh Scouts by Gen Malik at a special ceremony
to be held in Leh. Ladakh Scouts have already been awarded the unit citation
by the Chief of Army Staff for their exemplary performance, particularly
in the Batalik sector.
The
IAF today carried out round-the-clock reconnaissance and air defence missions
in the Kargil sector. While no evidence of the intruders was noticed, the
IAF’s fighters continued to carry out surveillance in the area. Meanwhile,
bodies of 11 Army personnel including that of Captain Jintu Gogoi of 17
Garhwal battalion, who laid down their lives fighting the Pakistan Army
in Kargil sector, were brought here today. Six of these soldiers belonged
to 17 Jat and five to 17 Garhwal.
The
soldiers who sacrificed their lives are : Sepoys Vinod Kumar, Rajvir Singh,
Dharamvir Singh, Gazpal Singh, Krishan Kumar and Subedar Harphul Singh
(of 17 JAT) and Captain Jintu Gogoi, Lance Naiks Madan Singh, Davinder Prasad, Riflemen Jaideep Singh and Varinder Lal (of 17
Garhwal).
Courtesy:
HINDUSTAN TIMES
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