Army men with mortal remains of the porter at Siachen on Wednesday.

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 2

The body of an Army porter, Thukjay Gyasket (40), a resident of Ayee village near Sasoma in Leh district, was recovered from a crevasse in Siachen today.Gyasket slipped and fell into a narrow crevasse while ferrying stores between forward Army posts in the northern glacier area on February 27. He  is survived by his mother, wife and two daughters.Specialised rescue teams from the Siachen Battle School were immediately launched, said a Defence spokesperson. They were undertaking efforts to locate him for the last four days, he said.“After three days, his body was located about 130 feet inside the narrow crevasse. After locating the body, teams moved inside the crevasse and anchored it to the ice wall to prevent it from slipping further,” he said.“The opening and gap in the narrow crevasse was widened to retrieve the body intact. The mortal remains of the porter have been brought to Hunder near Parthapur and will be handed over to the next of kin after necessary formalities,” he added.Northern Command Chief Lt Gen DS Hooda expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased porter and assured all possible assistance to the family in this moment of grief.He complimented the tireless efforts and unwavering commitment of the rescue team which braved freezing temperatures to locate and retrieve the mortal remains of the porter.

Pampore gunfight: One of attackers was Pak national

Majid Jahangir,Tribune News Service,Srinagar, March 2

Nine days after the Pampore gunfight ended, the J&K Police have claimed to have identified one of the three attackers as a resident of Punjab province of Pakistan.The attack on Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) had left five security men, including three commandos of the elite para unit of Army, dead.Police sources said one of the slain Fidayeen militants of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) had been identified as Abdul Manan alias Abu Waleed, son of Zia-ur- Rehman, hailing from the Wazirabad area in western Punjab. The identity of the other two attackers was being ascertained, they added.“During investigations, we have identified one of the slain militants, who was a Pakistani. The three were part of a group that had freshly infiltrated and indications are they may have reached the Valley at the most 12 days before carrying out the attack,” said a police officer.The police have also recovered a photo of the slain Pakistani militant during the investigation. In the picture, the militant is wearing a white dress, to camouflage in the white snowy background. The picture appears to have been taken somewhere in a mountainous region. He is seen sitting beneath a snow covered coniferous tree, with two assault rifles also visible. There is another man in the picture, but his face is partly visible.  Hafiz Sayeed, the head of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), who has been accused of being the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, had praised the Pampore attackers and also led funeral prayers in absentia in Pakistan.After the gunfight ended on February 22, the Army had said they suspected that the three militants, killed in the 48-hour gunfight, had carried out a recce of the area before carrying out the attack. The gunfight had started on February 20 afternoon, when the militants attacked a CRPF convoy in which 11 personnel were wounded, out of whom two succumbed to their injuries.

Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers patrol the border fence at Bamial in Pathankot. — PTI file

Pathankot, March 2

An alert has been sounded in villages located near the Indo-Pak border in Pathankot district and patrolling intensified after BSF alerted police on spotting three to five suspects in Pakistan side near the border.”An alert has been sounded in and around villages located near Indo-Pak border and night patrolling by security personnel has been stepped up in the wake of information with regard to suspect shared by BSF personnel,” a Pathankot district police official said.BSF has alerted Pathankot district police after spotting three to five suspects in Pakistan side near Indo-Pak border here.”Three to five suspects were spotted by our surveillance equipments on the Pakistan side near Zero Line and thereafter Pathankot police authorities have been informed in this regard,” a BSF official said today.BSF has Dhinda Forward Post in Bamial area near Zero Line at Indo-Pak border.BSF official said that information has been shared with the district police to remain alert.After receiving information, the district police have stepped up patrolling and vigil near the Indo-Pak border to prevent entry of any anti-social element into Indian territory.Police nakas (check posts) have been set up at various places while area near Narot Jaimal Singh has been completely sealed.Heavily-armed terrorists had attacked Pathankot Airforce base in January this year and they were suspected to have infiltrated into India from a spot near Bamial located near Indo-Pak border in Pathankot. — PTI

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Deepanker Gupta

Udhampur, February 25

Nikhil Mahajan, brother of Capt Tushar Mahajan, who reached his hometown today, recalled memories from his childhood. He said, “We still cannot believe how my brother grew up to be a brave soldier of the nation.”After reaching New Delhi in the wee hours today, Nikhil took a flight to Jammu and reached Udhampur around noon. As Nikhil met his parents, relatives and friends, they could not control their emotions and burst into tears.“My younger brother aspired to join the Army and serve the nation. He has done an extraordinary job by laying down his life for the nation. I am very proud of him as he attained martyrdom during the gunbattle. I will miss him a lot forever,” said Nikhil.He became emotional while talking about his brother, nicknamed Chhotu. While play games, he used to insist that he would always win and was the dearest to all of them, said Nikhil.Chhotu was very focused on what he intended to do, said Nikhil. He had become the hero of the nation now, said the elder brother. He said they had a telephonic conversation a few days back and he always prayed that Chhotu remained safe.Nikhil was trying to come back home since Sunday night. It was after three days and the intervention of top officers that he was given clearance.

Daughter lights pyre of Mandi martyr

Vijay Mohan,Tribune News Service,Chandigarh, February 19

The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) has decreed that a top Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) officer who was recently elevated to the rank of Lieutenant General was not even fit to be promoted from Brigadier to Major General and has recalled its promotion order.Taking up a review petition filed by another AOC officer, Maj Gen RS Rathore, the Tribunal’s Bench, comprising Justice DP Singh and Air Marshal Anil Chopra, has held that the promotion of Lt Gen NK Mehta from the rank of Brigadier to Major General on the basis of a previous AFT order was not tenable due to concealment of facts from the court. The AFT’s order can be challenged in the next higher judicial forum. Both officers are of December 1979 seniority and were considered as Brigadiers for promotion to the rank of Major General in 2011. While Rathore was approved for the next rank, Mehta’s result was withheld due to a pending Disciplinary and Vigilance ban on him in an earlier case, which was later revoked. Mehta approached the AFT in 2012 seeking promotion to Major General. Rathore averred that several important facts were hidden by Mehta and he had not even been impleaded as a party to the case even though they were the only contenders for a single vacancy.“Since from material on record, there appears to be concealment of facts, the respondent, prima facie, seems to be not eligible for promotion even to the rank of Major General, we direct the respondents (MoD and Army) to maintain status quo ante forthwith,” the Bench ordered, while imposing costs of Rs 25,000.It held that since the impugned order seems to be an outcome of fraud (concealment of material facts), it is liable to be recalled in view of the settled proposition of law and may not stand even for a moment, causing miscarriage of justice, and once the impugned order goes, in view of the law settled by the Supreme Court all the subsequent orders, decision or action shall stand vitiated. The process of law, in this case, seems to have been abused for extraneous reasons, the Bench ruled.“While parting with the case, we feel that corruption has crept in every system of the country and pray to Almighty to impart justice and help the country to recognise merit of the persons serving the nation instead of extraneous considerations,” the Bench remarked, while observing that no person, how so high may be, should be permitted to enjoy office acquired by commission of fraud even for a day

Case file of Ordnance officers

• The petitioner in the review application,Maj Gen RS Rathore, and the respondent, now Lt Gen, NK Mehta, are Ordnance officers of the December 1979 seniority
• Both were considered for promotion from Brigadier to Major General in 2011 but promotions were held up due to an ongoing inquiry
• Rathore was approved to become Maj Gen in 2012 after judicial intervention, but Mehta’s result was held back due to inquiry, ACR issues and assessment by Army HQs
• Mehta moved AFT and in 2012, AFT ordered him to be considered for promotion. Review application filed by Army was dismissed
• Rathore approached AFT in 2013 alleging concealment of information by Mehta before the AFT and also filed a review application in 2015
• Mehta was recently elevated as Lt Gen and is posted at College of MaterialManagement, Jabalpur