In one of the deadliest operations seen along the Line of Control, a total of five militants have been killed in heavy fire and shelling, but unfortunately, five Special Forces personnel were also martyred.
One of the five soldiers of the Indian Army who attained martyrdom while fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Sunday belonged to Rajasthan. The soldier has been identified as Chhatrapal Singh, a resident of Udaipurwati area in Rajasthan.
The incident took place in the Keran sector of North Kashmir when terrorists tried to infiltrate across the LoC on Sunday morning. “The terrorists were trying to infiltrate into Kashmir by taking advantage of the bad weather and tough terrain in the Keran area when they were detected by our alert troops,” said an officer.
Chhatrapal and four other soldiers lost their lives in a gunfight with terrorists during patrolling in the Keran sector. The army jawans braced cold weather, heavy snow and rough terrains to thwart attempts of infiltration by terrorists.
Martyr Chhatrapal was born on 12 August 1997 and joined the army in the year 2015. He became a commando in 2018 and sacrificed his life to protect the country in 2020. Chhatrapal is survived by his mother Sasikala Devi (49), father Suresh Kumar Pal (52) and a brother Surya Pratap Singh (26).
Jawan’s body was brought from Kashmir and the mortal remains were brought to his village. The entire village was mourning the death of the army jawan and a massive crowd came to his funeral despite the nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus pandemic.
District collector UD Khan and several other local administration and police officers were present. The last rites were performed with full state honours in his native village. Cross-border infiltration along the Line of Control has increased by almost 50% ever since Article 370 was abrogated on 5 August 2019.
Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot expressed condolences to his family members. CM Gehlot tweeted, “I salute the valour of our 5 soldiers including, Jhunjhunu, #Rajasthan’s braveheart paratrooper Sh Chhatrapal Singh, who were martyred in an anti-infiltration operation in Kashmir’s Keran sector. My heartfelt condolences to the families of our martyrs..may God give them strength”.
