Search op continues day after Kishtwar encounter; Army pays tributes to JCO

The Army on Monday laid wreaths on the mortal remains of the Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), who laid down his life in a gunfight with the terrorists in Kishtwar district. Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar of the Army’s 2 Para, was killed and three more soldiers were injured in the gunfight on Sunday.

Rakesh Kumar along with three other soldiers was left seriously injured when terrorists hiding in Keshwan forest area opened fired on a search party during an encounter on Sunday. The search operation was launched in the region after highly trained terrorists killed two Village Defence Guards (VDGs) on Thursday.

The General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the White Knight Corps, Lieutenant General Navin Sachdeva, led the wreath-laying ceremony at the IAF station in Jammu, where the Naib Subedar’s mortal remains were brought from Kishtwar. The bugle sounded at the last post and an Army contingent presented a salute to honour the fallen soldier.

White Knight Corps of Army in a statement on X stated, “In a solemn wreath-laying ceremony, GOC White Knight Corps laid a wreath to pay homage to braveheart Nb Sub Rakesh Kumar, who made the supreme sacrifice on 10 November in the highest traditions of Indian Army. His sacrifice would never be forgotten”.

The mortal remains of Naib Subedar Kumar have been airlifted by a chopper to his native place in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi.

The encounter had broken out on Sunday when joint search parties of the Army and police intercepted the terrorists around 11 am in the Keshwan forest. The exchange of fire went on for more than four hours.

Meanwhile, a search operation continued in forest areas of Kishtwar to eliminate the terrorists behind killing of two OGWs. Sources, however, informed that it was likely that the group of 3-4 terrorists moving in the area was able to give a slip to the security forces like in many earlier encounters. It is believed that the terrorist are getting local help due to which they do not face difficulty in finding escape routes even inside deep forest areas.