While the Armed Forces of India paid tribute to the Corona Warriors and civilians in the country, supreme sacrifices were made in a joint operation which lasted for almost 16 hours by the RR and SOG on Sunday May 2nd, in which two terrorists were killed in Handwara, North Kashmir.
However, in the Counter-Terror operation, the nation lost 5 bravehearts- Colonel Ashutosh SM (bar), Major Anuj Sood, Sub Inspector Shaqeel Qazi, Naik Rajesh and Lance Naik Dinesh.
In a tragic loss to the nation, the heroes who attained martyrdom were of the 21st Rashtriya Rifles battalion associated with the Brigade of the Guards regiment, which suffered its biggest ever loss in one day.
The five soldiers including a JK Police Special Operations Group incharge SI Shaqeel Qasi closed in to a house, where terrorists were believed to be holding civilians hostage. Believing that they were dead in the previous firing, they went in to rescue the civilians when they were supposedly ambushed by the terrorists in a close quarters battle. After that, radio communication was lost with the team and the terrorists then allegedly snatched their ammunition and protective gear and used their radio for communicating with their other teammates at varied frequencies across the border.
Paying his tribute, PM Narendra Modi tweeted, "Tributes to our courageous soldiers and security personnel martyred in Handwara. Their valour and sacrifice will never be forgotten. They served the nation with utmost dedication and worked tirelessly to protect our citizens. Condolences to their families and friends."
Colonel Ashutosh was the Commanding Officer of the unit and had been awarded Sena Medal for gallantry TWICE for his valor in fighting terrorists.
"The operations in Handwara, J&K highlights the determination of the security forces to safeguard the lives of the people", said CDS General Bipin Rawat. Adding, he mentioned "The armed forces are proud of their courage as they have successfully eliminated the terrorists. We salute these brave personnel and express our deepfelt condolences for the bereaved families."
Describing the deaths of the security personnel as utterly painful, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh stated, "I offer my tributes to the soldiers and security personnel who fell in action. My heart goes out to the families who lost their loved ones today. India stands shoulder to shoulder with the families of these brave martyrs. The loss of our soldiers and security personnel in Handwara(J&K) is deeply disturbing and painful. They showed exemplary courage in their fight against the terrorists and made supreme sacrifice while serving the country. We will never forget their bravery and sacrifice."
The unit had received an intelligence input that terrorists had taken a civilian as a hostage in Changimul, Handwara of Kupwara district. With 2 terrorists killed in the encounter, some inputs hint that there might have been more, and had fled during the encounter.
It is totally trenchant that India had seen many liberal journalists like Barkha Dutt and Sagarika Ghosh write lengths in praise of terrorists being killed by the Indian Army's sanitation drive in Kashmir and didn't shed a tear or on the sacrifices being made by the security forces.
Following the trend, the spring season of 2020 has also witnessed surge of terrorist activities with new terrorist organisations emerging like the TRF and forming alliances with old organizations like
Ansar Ghazwatul Hind (Al-Qaeda), Lashkar e Toiba (LeT), Hizbul, Jaish and ISIS-linked Wilayat al Hind to open a unified Kashmiri terrorist front, utilising social media especially Telegram groups for communication.
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