An Army officer who was awarded the Yudh Seva Medal just two days ago was killed in a gun battle with militants in the Tral area of south Kashmir on Tuesday. A police head constable was also killed.
Col. M.N. Rai, Commanding Officer of 42 Rashtriya Rifles, was among those awarded gallantry medals on the occasion of Republic Day.
The slain policeman is Sanjeevan Singh.
Two Hizbul Mujahideen militants were killed, while two soldiers were injured in the hours-long gunfight that began on Tuesday afternoon.
“On a specific tip-off, our forces launched a search operation in Hadoora village on Tuesday afternoon. During the operation, militants in the village fired on the joint search team, and an intense gunfight ensued,” a senior police officer said. “We lost two of our men, including a Colonel who was awarded for his bravery two days ago.”
Army spokesperson Lt. Col. N.N. Joshi said Col. Rai was awarded the medal for outstanding contribution to the planning and execution of operations, including a gunfight with militants in south Kashmir last year. Col. Rai, who is from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, belongs to 9 Gorkha Rifles, but was on deputation to the Rashtriya Rifles. He is survived by two daughters and a son.
Alok Kumar, DIG, South Kashmir, said the militants killed were identified as Shiraz Ahmad and Abid Khan.
They were from Hadoora and had gone home to see Abid Khan’s brother who had cancer.
