Highlights
- Five soldiers were martyred and one sustained injury in the terrorist attack
- Out of the five martyrs, four were residents of Punjab, while one belonged to Odisha
- The soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations
Poonch terror attack: A day after the terrorist attack on an Army vehicle in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, the Punjab government on Friday announced Rs 1 crore ex-gratia to the families of four soldiers who lost their lives. "We will give ex-gratia amount of Rs one crore each to the families of the four Army personnel who lost their lives in the Poonch terror attack," Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said.
As many as five soldiers were martyred and one was injured on Thursday after their vehicle was ambushed by unidentified terrorists and caught fire. Out of the five martyrs, four were residents of Punjab, while one belonged to Odisha.
The deceased were identified as Havildar Mandeep Singh from Chankoian village in Ludhiana, Lance Naik Kulwant Singh from Charik village in Moga, Sepoy Harkrishan Singh from Talwandi village in Gurdaspur, Sepoy Sewak Singh from Bagha village Bathinda, and Lance Naik Debashish from Algum Sami village in Odisha. The soldiers were from a Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed for counter-terror operations.
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Army pays tributes to fallen soldiers
Earlier on Friday, top Army and police officials paid homage to the deceased soldiers. At a ceremony held at a military camp in Rajouri, senior officers, including the general officer commanding (GoC) and additional director general of police (ADGP), and civil dignitaries paid homage to the soldiers, officials said. "The nation will always remain indebted to our bravehearts for their supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty," an officer said.
Indian Army detains 12 for questioning
Meanwhile, the Indian Army had launched a massive operation to hunt down a group of around six to seven terrorists who are behind this ambush. "The Army and security agencies have received inputs about the presence of 6-7 terrorists operating in two groups in the Rajouri-Poonch sector near the area where the incident took place yesterday (April 20)," news agency ANI quoted defence sources as saying.
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Meanwhile, at least 12 people were detained for questioning in connection with the deadly ambush. Officials said that those detained were being questioned at various levels by the security forces to ascertain the identity of the terror group, which is believed to be active in the area for more than a year and probably comprises a snipper too.
(With inputs from agencies)
