Lt Gen Satish Dua hand over charge of 15 Corps to Lt Gen JS Sandhu in Srinagar on Monday. tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 1

Amid the tension along the Line of Control (LoC), Lt Gen JS Sandhu on Monday took over as the General officer Commanding (GoC) of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps — the most challenging and strategic corps of the Army.Lt Gen Satish Dua handed over the charge to Lt Gen Sandhu, who became the 46th Corps commander of Chinar Corps, which is responsible for guarding the LoC in Kashmir.Commissioned into the regiment of 5th Gorkha Rifles (FF), Lt General Sandhu has had an illustrious military career spanning 36 years during which he has held varied prestigious command, staff and instructional appointments.The officer has an incisive understanding of J&K having served five earlier stints in the state, including command of an Infantry Battalion on the LoC, a Mountain Brigade and the elite Kupwara Division, a defence spokesman said.A graduate of the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC), Higher Command Course and National Defence College, Gen Sandhu has also served in Army Headquarters, Infantry School, Army War College and the DSSC. He has also represented the country in the Indian embassy at Kathmandu, Nepal. Earlier in the day, Lt General Dua was given a farewell at Badami Bagh, which began with both officers laying a wreath at the War Memorial to pay homage to martyrs.Lt General Dua proceeded to New Delhi on promotion to assume the charge of Chief of Integrated Staff to the Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee.Lt General Dua will be remembered for planning and executing the surgical strikes that were launched by the Army on September 29, following the attack on an Army base at Uri that left 19 soldiers dead and over two dozen others injured. During his tenure, 160 militants were killed along the LoC and hinterland.“Operationally, besides addressing conventional preparedness, he ensured strengthening of the counter infiltration posture along the LoC, including the development of habitat and security infrastructure, thus further empowering the soldiers on ground that resulted in foiling of over 50 infiltration bids and elimination of over 100 terrorists,” a senior Army officer said. “The counter-terrorist operations in the hinterland also saw major successes during his tenure with over 60 terrorists eliminated that included 25 leaders of different major outfits. This also bears testimony to the vigour and purpose he was able to further infuse in the synergetic levels among all security and intelligence agencies operating in the Valley.”