Members of the expedition at the Assam Regiment War Memorial on Sunday. Tribune Photo

Our Correspondent

Fazilka, June 12

To celebrate the platinum jubilee of the Assam Regiment, a motorcycle expedition was flagged off from the Phantom Third War Memorial of the martyrs of the regiment from border village Gharumi, 9 km from here, today.Fortyfour officers and jawans of the 3 Assam Regiment had laid down their lives in the 1971 war in the Fazilka sector defending the country.The phantom war memorial has been raised in their memory. The mortal remains of the martyrs are also buried on the premises of the memorial. As a mark of respect, the war veterans and senior officers of the regiment – Brigadier Charandeep Singh, Brigadier SJ Singh, Col Gautam Ranpal and Col MS Kochar (retd) accompanied by members of the Shaeedon Ki Samadhi Committee, Asafwala – laid wreaths at the memorial.Army contingents also presented the guard of honour. War veteran Col MS Kauchar (retd), who had participated in the 1971 Indo-Pak war in the Fazilka sector, flagged off the bike rally led by Brigadier Charandeep Singh.The motorcycle expedition en route Ferozepur, Ludhiana and Chandigarh will reach Shimla on June 15 to mark the platinum jubilee celebrations of the regiment on its raising day. After flagging off the rally, Col Kauchar and other officers visited the war memorial at Asafwala and laid wreaths at the sanctum sanctorum.

Motorcycle expedition heads for Shimla

Senior Army officers flag off a motorcycle expedition in Akhnoor on Sunday. A Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 12

A motorcycle expedition was today flagged off from Mandiala area in Akhnoor to mark the Assam Regiment’s platinum jubilee celebrations and commemorating its valiant action during the 1971 war.Deputy Chief of the Army Staff (P&S) and Colonel, Assam Regiment and Arunachal Scouts, Lt Gen Subarata Saha along with Maj Gen (Retd) PK Puri, a 1971-war veteran, laid wreath at the 5 Assam Regiment War Memorial at Rakhmuthi and flagged off the expedition.The battalion was conferred the Battle Honour for Chhamb and Theatre Honour for Jammu and Kashmir for its heroic performance in the war.Pakistani troops, supported by heavy armour, had attacked 5 Assam positions on December 3, 1971. However, due to resolute leadership and dauntless courage of the men of the unit, the attack was stemmed and as such the capture of Akhnoor bridge, the objective of the offensive and India’s jugular vein to J&K, was prevented. The victory came at a price of five officers and 19 men, who laid down their lives to defend the motherland.General Puri, who was the Company Commander at the time, extolled the Army saluted the sacrifices made by its personnel.Commemorating its platinum jubilee celebrations and 75 years of dedicated service to the nation, the Regiment is conducting two motorcycle expeditions– one from Mandiala (Akhnoor) and the other from Fazilka (Punjab). Both the expeditions will terminate in Shimla, where its First Battalion is presently stationed.