Shyam Sood

Rajouri, July 30

Within 24 hours of killing of a 10-day-old baby in mortar shelling from Pakistan in Poonch district, a soldier attained martyrdom in a skirmish along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Sunderbani sector in Rajouri district on Tuesday.

The soldier has been identified as Naik Krishan Lal (34), who was a resident of Ghagriyal in Jammu district. The soldier is survived by his wife Shashi Devi.

Defence sources said the Indian Army retaliated strongly, killing 2 Pakistani soldiers besides inflicting an extensive loss on infrastructure across the border.

In a tweet, Northern Command chief Lt Gen Ranbir Singh and all ranks saluted the supreme sacrifice of Naik Krishan Lal and offered their deepest condolences to the martyr’s family. “The Pakistan army resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation along the LoC in the Sunderbani sector which was retaliated befittingly by the Indian Army,” said the PRO, defence.

“A heavy damage to Pakistan posts and casualties have been inflicted by our troops,” said Lt Col Davender Anand, PRO, defence.

On July 22, Rifleman Mohammad Atif Sahfi Alam Khan of Gujarat had attained martyrdom in the Sunderbani sector.

For the last two or three weeks, the Pakistan army has been targeting Indian forward posts and civil areas, injuring border residents and damaging houses, in Rajouri and Poonch districts.