In a tragic incident ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled election rally in Doda, two Army soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), were martyred, and two others were injured during an encounter with terrorists in the Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir.
The confrontation erupted when a joint security team, comprising Army personnel and local police, launched a cordon-and-search operation following a tip-off. The encounter took place in the Pingnad Naidgham area, falling under the jurisdiction of the Chatroo police station in Kishtwar district.
The soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice were identified as Naib Subedar Vipan Kumar, a resident of Patrara village in the Sunderbani area of Rajouri district, and Sepoy Arvind Singh, hailing from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh. Two other soldiers, Sepoy Musadiq Shafiq and Sepoy Shail Thakur, were injured and are currently receiving treatment.
Officials stated that the gunfight broke out around 3:30 pm when the security forces, during their search operation, came under heavy fire from the terrorists hiding in the area. One soldier succumbed to injuries caused by a grenade explosion, while the other was fatally wounded by a bullet to the head.
The injured personnel were swiftly evacuated and airlifted to an Army hospital after receiving preliminary treatment at a local facility.
The Army’s White Knight Corps confirmed the loss of the two soldiers. In a statement, they said, “GOC White Knight Corps and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of the bravehearts; offer deepest condolences to the families.”
This tragic incident comes just two days after the Army successfully neutralized two Pakistani terrorists linked to the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror outfit in a separate encounter in the Basantgarh region of Udhampur district.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address an election rally in Doda on September 14, a neighboring district to Kishtwar. Despite the heightened security concerns, the rally is expected to go ahead as planned.
