RAJOURI (TIP): Brig JK Tiwari, Deputy General Officer Commanding of the 25 Infantry Division, said the gruesome killing of two soldiers by Pakistani troops in the Mendhar Sector on Tuesday was a pre-planned operation. Interacting with mediapersons after paying tribute to the two martyrs, Brig Tiwari termed the Pakistani Army’s action as most barbaric and inhuman. “It was a highly provocative act and pre-planned by Pakistan, which is highly condemnable,” he said. Explaining how the killings took place, Brigadier Tiwari said, “Our area domination patrol was moving from one post to another along the Line of Control (LoC). Mid-way, it came under heaving firing by a group of Pakistani troops who had crossed the LoC and intruded deep into our side. The firing continued for over half an hour,” he said.

He said the soldiers were ambushed amid thick fog that greatly reduced visibility in the area, which has a thick forest cover and helped Pakistani troops intrude into India. “After the firing stopped, the patrol party started consolidation of the area and found two men of the advance patrolling party missing. After the search, the badly mutilated bodies of two soldiers were found. The head of one of the soldiers was taken away by the Pakistani soldiers,” he said. “They (Pakistani) are very desperate to send militants and their efforts have been successfully foiled by the Indian Army. That may be a reason for this action,” he said, adding that such an incident had not taken place along the LoC in the last eight to nine years. Earlier, Brigadier Tiwari laid wreaths on the bodies of Lance Naik Hemraj (29) and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh (28) at the ALC Ground in Rajouri followed by a guard of honour. Wrapped in the Tricolour, their bodies were sent to their villages in UP and MP. The Army also called a high-level meeting of the 25 Infantry Division where all senior officers were present.