Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 27

Three unidentified militants were killed in a gunfight as the Army foiled an infiltration bid at Gurez in north Kashmir’s Bandipore district this morning.The Army said a group of militants was intercepted by soldiers right on the LoC when they were trying to sneak into the Valley.“When the group was challenged, they opened fire, triggering a gunfight. So far three terrorists have been killed in the gunfight,” said Srinagar-based defence spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia.The identity and the group affiliation of the slain militants could not be established. It is, however, suspected that all three are non-locals. Colonel Kalia said the counter-infiltration operation in the Gurez sector, 180 km from here, was still in progress.This is the second infiltration bid that has been foiled in the Gurez sector in the last 10 days. On July 18, two unidentified militants were killed in a gunfight in the sector.Gurez is the toughest route to sneak into the Valley. In the Gurez sector, militants mostly sneak through Kanzalwan and Nowshewra ridges before entering Bandipore. The mountains ranges in the Gurez sector touch 14,000 feet.This year 42 militants have been killed along the LoC while infiltrating into the Valley. The Army claims that at least 20 infiltration attempts have been foiled this year.

Kargil martyr Pawan Kumar’s kin felicitated

BPCL felicitates Pawan Kumar’s kin on Kargil Vijay Diwas.

Jammu, July 27

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) today remembered the sacrifice of Pawan Kumar who got martyred during the Kargil war in 1999 by felicitating the customers and family members of the braveheart.BPCL in 2002 had commissioned a retail outlet in Kathua by awarding the dealership to Pawan Kumar’s widow Reeta Kumari under the corpus scheme. While the customers at the retail outlet expressed their trust in the business acumen of the dealer, even BPCL did not keep any stone unturned and renovated the retail outlet recently by upgrading its facilities.In order to pay a tribute to the brave martyr, BPCL conducted a small get-together at the petrol pump and felicitated prominent customers along with the family of the martyr.Rajesh Sharma, Territory Manager (retail), J&K, expressed his gratitude towards the Army’s welfare department, which was specially invited on the occasion. — TNS