Terrorists killed in Rajouri encounter may have been ex-Pak soldiers?

 Srinagar: Indian Army said on Friday that the militant duo gunned down by it during the recent encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s frontier district of Rajouri seem to have been trained in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries. However, their killing is a major setback to “terrorism and its eco-system” in the border belt of Rajouri-Poonch.

Army’s Northern Command chief Lt. General Upendra Dwivedi while speaking to reporters after paying his last respects to the five Army personnel including two captains and a Junior Commissioned Officer who laid down their lives in the encounter earlier this week, said, “No doubt, there have been martyrdoms in the joint action of the jawans of 9 Para (Special Forces) but we have eliminated dreaded terrorists”.

He said the slain militants were involved in a series of terror acts in which unarmed civilians fell prey in the region and, therefore, it was very important to eliminate them. He added, “It is possible they were trained in several countries including Pakistan and Afghanistan. They were highly trained terrorists and that is why it took some time to exterminate them, but our brave soldiers without caring about their own lives carried out this perceptible task.”

Meanwhile, the Army sources in the garrison town of Udhampur said that they are ascertaining the identities of the slain militants, one of whom was known to the locals by his assumed name or alias ‘Qari’. “It is, however, already known that both were Pakistani nationals and there is possibility of them being ex-Pak soldiers,” the sources said.

Earlier when Lt. Gen. Dwivedi was asked if it was true that some special forces’ personnel of the neighbouring country have been found present in the militant ranks, he said, “When we tried to seek identification of terrorists, we came to know that some of them are retired army personnel.”

The wreath laying ceremonies to pay tribute to slain Captain MV Pranjal, Captain Shubham Gupta, Havildar Abdul Majeed, Lance Naik Sanjay Bisht and Paratrooper Sachin Laur were held in Jammu and Rajouri. In Jammu, among those who paid their respects to the deceased personnel at the ceremony were J&K Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha and DGP Rashmi Ranjan Swain. Mr. Sinha said, “I bow to our Army Bravehearts who were martyred while protecting the motherland during the anti-terror operation. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten”.

Lt. Gen. Dwivedi alleged that Pakistan continues to make attempts to push foreign militants into J&K. He said, “There is lack of support from the local population, especially the youth who are reluctant to get recruited in the terrorist ranks and, therefore, Pakistan is making attempts to push in foreign terrorists. The killing of the two dreaded foreign terrorists is a major setback for its plans to destabilise the region.” He added, “They (Pakistan) have created an ecosystem and their (the militant duo’s) killing has dealt a severe blow to Pakistan to disturb the region.”

He said he had met Lance Naik Bisht only about a week ago in Rajouri to give him an award for his bravery and he had promised him that he would be doing something spectacular soon. “As far as Sanjay Bisht, I had myself pinned a medal to his chest at Budhal (Rajouri) on the 18th (November). I asked him what action he was going to take next, and he told me I promise you will see me doing something big within a week’s time. And he bravely sacrificed his life here,” Lt. Gen. Dwivedi said.

The Northern Army commander said. ‘I would also like to say that the statement of Captain Pranjal’s father Venkatesh Pranjal (that he was proud of his son even in these sorrowful moments and that he will bid farewell to his son who sacrificed his life for the country with a smile) made in Bengaluru yesterday will only bolden the morale of our Bravehearts further and they would be inspired to repeat such valour actions in future also.”

Asked about the number of terrorists active in the Pir Panjal range (Poonch-Rajouri districts), the Army commander said, “It could be between 20 to 25 terrorists… with the active support of the J&K police and human intelligence, we will be able to root out the terrorism from the region within a year.” End it