Army salutes 3 Gorkha soldiers killed in Nowgam operations

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 22

The Army on Monday saluted the three Nepalese soldiers who were killed in the two-day-long counter-infiltration operation in Nowgam which concluded this morning. Four militants, suspected to be members of the Lashkar-e-Toiba, were also killed in the operation.

Three soldiers Havaldar Giris Gurung, 38, Havaldar Damar Bahadur Pun, 40, and Rifleman Rabin Sharma, 23, of 4/1 Gorkha Regiment were killed in the Nowgam operation while foiling a major infiltration bid in the sector.

Joined by top officials of the civil administration and other security forces operating in the Valley, Chinar Corps Commander Lt Gen J S Sandhu paid rich tributes to the three soldiers in a solemn ceremony in Badmibagh Cantonment, Srinagar, an Army spokesman said.

Havaldar Giris Gurung from Nagidhar village in Kaski, Nepal, had a distinguished service spanning 19 years and had been a part of many counter-terrorist operations earlier. He is survived by his wife Panch Maya Gurung and two young children.

Havaldar Damar Bahadur Pun, who hails from Karaing Tun in Gulmi, Nepal, was an experienced soldier with 21 years of selfless service. He is survived by his wife Kalpana Pun and two young children.

Rifleman Rabin Sharma, 23, a resident of Nepal’s Chuwa village in Parbat district had joined the Army in 2013. He is survived by his wife Sabita Sharma.

The mortal remains of the three will be taken by service aircraft to Subathu in Himachal Pradesh for their last rites with full military honours, he said.

Meanwhile, sources said the recoveries made at the encounter site indicate that the four slain militants belonged to the Lashkar.

This year the Army has foiled two major infiltration bids in Kashmir and killed at least eight militants.