Army chief Bikram Singh reaches Jammu, pays tribute to martyrs
New Delhi: Army Chief General Bikram Singh on Wednesday reached Jammu to review the situation in Poonch after the killing of five Indian soldiers along the Line of Control (LoC), official sources said. The Army Chief paid tribute to the 5 martyrs at Jammu airport.
According to sources, the Army Chief had briefed Defence minister AK Antony following the incident. The sources said that patrolling had been enhanced along the LoC. Antony told Parliament on Tuesday that the attack was carried out by ‘about 20 heavily armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan army uniform.’
Pakistan has denied any involvement in the post midnight attack in Poonch sector. Genral Bikram Singh is expected to meet the commanding officer and troops of the battalions whose troops were killed in the ambush, Army officials said. The ambush that killed five soldiers is one of the worst incidents along LoC since the ceasefire came into force between India and Pakistan in 2003.
The soldiers killed belonged to the 21 Bihar regiment battalion and Maratha Light Infantry battalion, sources said. They were deployed in Sarla area along the LoC near Chakan-Da-Bagh in Poonch sector in Jammu region. The sources said that the soldiers on patrol were ambushed on Tuesday between 1 am and 2 am, 400 metres on the Indian side.
Official sources said that the norms lay down that no construction can take place 500 metres on either side of LoC. They said the attackers took advantage of bad weather as visibility was poor. The ambush took place about 40 km away from the site of attack in January in which two soldiers were killed. One Indian soldier was beheaded and the other’s body was mutilated causing a nationwide uproar.
