Tributes paid to Army man killed in Udhampur encounter

The Army, CRPF, BSF, and Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday paid tributes to paratrooper Jhantu Ali Sheikh, who laid down his life while fighting terrorists in Udhampur district.

36 –year-old Havaldar Sheikh, a trooper of the special forces (6 Para), was killed on Thursday in the encounter that broke out following a search operation in the Dudu-Basantgarh area of the district. The operation was launched after specific information was received by the security forces about present of terrorists.

A wreath-laying ceremony for the soldier was held at the 166 Military Hospital in Jammu.

Senior Army, police, Central Reserve Police Force, and Border Security Force officials, led by the Chief of Staff of the White Knight Corps, Major General Shailender Singh, laid wreaths on the body of the trooper and saluted his sacrifice.

Later, his body was dispatched to his native place — Pathar Ghata village in Nadia district, West Bengal, for burial, officials said.

Meanwhile a search operation has been launched in Basantgarh area to eliminate the terrorists behind the killing. Sources informed that the terrorists are likely equipped with M4 carbine and thermal imaging scopes. Security forces have cordoned off the forest area and were searching the area with the help of sniffer dogs and unmanned aerial vehicles.