Nagrota terror attack aimed at avenging PoK surgical strikes
Amir Karim Tantray
Tribune News Service
Jammu, November 30
The terror attack on an Army unit of the 16 Corps near its headquarters on a day when Pakistani army chief Gen Raheel Sharif was retiring, was aimed at taking revenge of surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) on September 29.
The Nagrota attack by a group of three militants after infiltrating from Pakistan on the International Border had a link with the statement of General Sharif who had warned India that if Pakistan carried out surgical strike, then it would find mention in Indian text books.
“Surgical strikes carried out by the Indian Army were a blot on the career of General Sharif who wanted to avenge it while being in the office. It is no coincidence that two similar attacks were carried out by militants, one at Nagrota and another at the Chamliyal area along the border on a day when the General was handing over the baton to Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa,” highly placed sources told The Tribune. Carrying out surgical strikes inside PoK on the intervening night of September 28-29, the Army had killed over 35 militants who were waiting to infiltrate to India.
He said the militants, gunned down at Nagrota, seemed to be a part of the larger group which infiltrated near the Chamliyal area of the Ramgarh sub-sector in Samba. After crossing the border, they had split into two groups to reach the encounter site with the help of sleeper cells. “The recoveries from these militants is huge which includes guns, thousands of rounds, UBGL grenades, improvised explosive devices, cutters, different type of knives, food, medicines etc. They could have been using these for several days,” said the sources.
“Recoveries at the Nagrota encounter site and at Chamliyal are similar in nature. These suggest that they were a part of the larger group. Of these, three were eliminated by the BSF at Chamliyal and three at Nagrota,” the sources said. However, the question which needs to be answered is that how they reached the encounter site and who helped them. “After dividing into two groups of three militants each, they must have got the help from local sleeper cells who took them from the International Border to Nagrota in a vehicle by taking advantage of darkness. It is not possible for militants to move on foot, carrying a huge amount of explosive materials and ammunition,” the sources added.
Two Majors and five soldiers were killed in this encounter which lasted for around 14 hours yesterday. The combing operation, which resumed this morning, was called off in the evening. A hostage-like situation had also emerged during the attack when two women with two toddlers and 12 soldiers were caught inside the two buildings where the militants entered. It was due to swift operation by the Army that all of them were rescued.
The Army is not spelling out anything about the incident officially and is treading cautiously.
2 officers’ wives displayed exemplary courage
Bravery exhibited by the wives of two Army officers, staying in the family quarters, helped in frustrating a major hostage crisis during the encounter that took place in the Nagrota area of Jammu on Tuesday.
Soon after the terrorists, disguised in police uniform stormed the Army unit, they were desperate to enter the family quarters so that they could take the kin of the soldiers and officers hostage. It was due to the bravery of these two women, who were staying in the family quarters along with their newborns, the plans of the terrorists were thwarted. The wives of the two Army officers, who were on night duty when the encounter broke out, displayed exemplary courage as they blocked the entry of their quarters with all household items, making it difficult for the terrorists to break into the houses.
Defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Mehta on Tuesday said, “Terrorists entered two buildings which were occupied by officers and their families. This led to a hostage-like situation. The situation was very quickly contained and thereafter, in a deliberate operation all were successfully rescued, which included 12 soldiers, two women and two babies.” — TNS
The martyrs
Major Gosavi Kunal Mannadir (33)
Pandharpur village, Solapur district, Maharashtra. He is survived by his wife Uma K Gosavi.
Major Akshay Girish Kumar (31)
Koramangala, Bengaluru, Karnataka. He is survived by his wife Sangeeta Ravinderan.
Havildar Sukhraj Singh (32)
Maan Nagar village, Gurdaspur district, Punjab. He is survived by his wife Harmeet Kaur.
Lance Naik Kadam Yeshwantro (32)
Janapuri village, Nanded district, Maharashtra. He is survived by his wife Sheetal.
Grenadier Raghvendra Singh (28)
Gadijatar village, Dholpur district, Rajasthan. He is survived by his wife Anjana Sikaewal.
Rifleman Asim Rai (32)
Ratanchha village, Nepal. He is survived by his wife Madhu Kala Rai.
Naik Chittranjan Debbarma (37)
Garingpara village, West Tripura district, Tripura. He is survived by his wife Namita Debbarma.
