Solider martyred in LoC breach, ‘heavy damage’ inflicted on Pak

TNN Bureau. Updated: 8/18/2019 10:53:36 AM

JAMMU: A soldier was martyred on Saturday as Pakistan violated ceasefire by shelling forward posts and villages along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district, prompting strong response from the Indian Army which inflicted casualties and heavy damage to Pakistan Army posts.
At least one Pakistani post opposite the Rajouri sector was hit during continuous cross-fire while the number of casualties incurred by Pakistani forces in the hit are not yet clear.
The latest ceasefire violation comes two days after Pakistan claimed that its four soldiers were killed in firing by Indian troops on their posts along the LoC.
“The ‘unprovoked firing’ by Pakistan from across the border started at around 6.30 am in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district and continued intermittently throughout the day,” Jammu-based defence PRO Lt Col Devender Anand said.
Lance Naik Sandeep Thapa (35), a resident of village Rajawala in Sahaspur district of Dehradun, sustained fatal injuries in the Pakistani firing, Lt Col Anand said.
“By Saturday evening, shelling from Pakistan side across the LoC had subsided but had not stopped completely. There have been increased attempts at infiltration across the LoC into Jammu and Kashmir over the past few days," a senior Army official told.
"Indian Army responded strongly and effectively. Heavy damage to Pakistan Army posts and casualties to Pakistan soldiers have been inflicted by our troops," he said.
"Lance Naik Thapa, who is survived by his wife Nisha Thapa, was a brave, highly motivated and sincere soldier. The nation will always remain indebted to him for the supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty," the spokesman said.
Thapa, 35, had been serving in the Army for the past 15 years.
According to Army sources, a major hub has been established by Pakistan in the Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir region to facilitate entry of terrorists into India.
Sources said firing of small arms and shelling with mortars by Pakistan on Saturday was totally unprovoked. There was befitting retaliation from the Indian Army to the unprovoked ceasefire violation.
Thapa's death is the seventh instance of casualty of Indians during ceasefire violations by Pakistan this year.
Last month, two Army personnel and a 10-day-old baby were killed and several civilians injured in heavy Pakistani shelling and firing in the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu region.
As compared to the previous seven months of 2019, there has been considerable decrease in ceasefire violations at the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir in August. On July 30, four special service personnel of Pakistan's Border Action Team had been shot down during an attempt to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir.
Ceasefire violations had been the highest in the month of July in which, incidentally, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and US President Donald Trump had held a bilateral meeting in Washington DC.



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