Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 28: Army today said that sacrifice given by Colonel M N Rai at Tral in South Kashmir while fighting militants will only strength its resolve to fight elements inimical to peace.
While paying glowing tributes to Colonel M N Rai, who was killed in Tral in a gun battle yesterday hardly 24 hours after receiving Yud Seva Medal, General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps Lt Gen Subrata Saha, today said: “The supreme sacrifice of the brave men only strengthens our resolve to fight all elements inimical to security of Kashmir.”
Lt General Saha described Colonel Rai as one of the brave officers of the Army who combined compassion with bravery. “Colonel Rai always led from the front in multiple operations that he carried out in 2014 and also in 2015. He combined bravery with compassion and people in Tral knew him very well for his several initiatives”, he added.
While giving details of the operation, the GOC said that once the house where the militants were hiding was cordoned off, the father and brother of one of the militant approached Col Rai claiming that their ward wanted to surrender. “But even as Col Rai gave them an opportunity to do so, the militants came out of the house firing indiscriminately leading to the killing of the Colonel. The officer’s swift actions prevented many civilian casualties during the operation”, he added.
Lt General Saha said that Colonel Rai had taken a number of initiatives for the positive engagement of youth like organising cricket and football tournaments.
“Clearly under his leadership, we could say that the narrative in Tral was changing. He earned the admiration of all the administration for his meticulous planning and we have seen how Tral turned out to vote,” the GOC said.
Lt General Saha said the security in Kashmir valley was being ensured with a colossal effort by the Army and added it was a collective responsibility of all the concerned agencies to keep the local youth away from militancy.
The GOC said that Army officers lead from the front that leads to their causality. “Traditionally Indian Army officers lead from front. It is matter of proud senior men fight from the front including senior officers like commanding officers”, he added.
The GOC said that militants have not changed their base from North to South Kashmir. “Last year more militants were killed in South Kashmir in the hinterland than South Kashmir”, he added.
Lt General Saha said that this year the Army is pro-active that has led to more successes against militants. “If you compare killing of militants this year with last year it was 101 in 2014. This year it is 10 for the first month. Average is more and less the same. Proactive actions are taken to ensure security condition remain stable”, he added.
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