*Pained as well as proud on martyrdom, says jawan’s uncle
Govind Sharma
JAMMU, Nov 23: A pall of gloom descended at Ajot hamlet located between zero-line and border fencing along the Line of Control in Poonch district as the people of the village came to know that a son of the soil was among the five Army personnel martyred in Kalakote encounter which ended today after the security forces eliminated two terrorists.
The deceased Jawan was identified as Havaldar Abdul Majid. The news of Majid’s martyrdom left the entire village in mourning. Locals and relatives of the deceased gathered at his residence to offer condolences to the grieving family, which includes his inconsolable father, mother, wife and three children. Majid, a para commando, was among five Army personnel martyred in the two-day long operation against the terrorists in the Dharamshal belt’s Bajimaal area.
Official sources indicated that the martyred jawan’s body would reach ALG Ground, Poonch at around 10 am tomorrow. The Martyr leaves behind his wife, two sons aged 12 and 8 years, a 5-year-old daughter, elderly parents, and a younger brother. He had joined the Army in the year 2008.
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Mohammad Yousef, the uncle of the martyred Jawan said that he feels proud of his nephew’s martyrdom. I am pained as well as proud that my nephew has got martyrdom while fighting terrorists in the Kalakote area, he said with heavy heart.
“His brother, a soldier of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JKLI), also achieved martyrdom in 2017 in Bhimber Gali area of Poonch. We are ready to lay down our lives for the nation”, said Yousef, who himself retired as a soldier of the Army’s Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry (JKLI).
“We are a family of the soldiers living on the LoC to defend the nation. We have 30 to 40 family members who are serving or have retired from the Indian Army. Serving in the Army is in our blood,” he said. Angered over the repeated mischievous acts of Pakistan, the former soldier calls for a befitting reply to the neighbouring nation so that they do not dare to repeat such terror acts again.
Wailing over the death of Havaldar Majid, his wife said he had told her about his visit to home in the next few days but news of his martyrdom came first. “Just a day ago he called me and informed that he will soon visit home. I called him a number of times yesterday but he did not reply and in the evening, I was told by the Army that he was injured in an encounter and is in hospital,” she said.
Sunil Kumar Sharma, Naib Sarpanch of Ajote said that the entire belt is proud of Havaldar Abdul Majid. “Pakistan is everyday engineering mischief and killing innocent people here. The neighbouring country should be given a befitting reply so that they don’t dare to repeat such acts,” Sharma said.
Other Army officials who lost their lives in the encounter include Captain M V Pranjal of 63 Rashtriya Rifles (a resident of Karnataka), Captain Shubham of the Special Forces (resident of Agra in Uttar Pradesh), Lance Naik Sanjay Bist of Nainital in Uttarakhand and Paratrooper Sachin Laur of Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today condoled the death of Captain Shubham Gupta who was martyred in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district.
The Chief Minister has announced a financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to the martyr’s kin and a Government job for one of his family members, an official statement said.
He has also said that road in the district would be named after late Captain Gupta, the statement added.
Adityanath took to X to share his condolences and extend support to the martyr’s family.
“The Uttar Pradesh Government is with the bereaved family members of the martyred captain at this hour of grief,” he wrote in a post.
Captain Gupta, who joined the Indian Army in 2015 and was commissioned in 2018, laid down his life while fighting with the terrorists in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district on Wednesday.
A resident of Agra district, Captain Gupta was among the four Indian Army personnel martyred during the encounter.
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