KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Within 24 hours of the Uri attack, National Investigation Agency (NIA), has taken over the investigations into the deadliest attack on an army base in Kashmir on September 18, 2016 morning. Sleuths from the agency have already visited the spot at a time when the government is busy exploring the response to the attack.
Seventeen soldiers were killed on Sunday while two of the thirty other personnel rendered injured are critical. Four militants, who have carried out the attack before the crack of the dawn in Uri on 12 Indian Army Infantry have already died. They, however, have not been identification, so far. The defence sources have already accused Jaish-e-Muhammad for the attack.
A hilly area, Uri is home to major military installations since partition of Kashmir in 1947. Nearly two brigades of army guard the Line of Control in Uri.
Details emerging from the various news reports and defence sources suggest that 6 Bihar regiment had reached Uri and there was routine hand-over-take-over between them and 10 Dogra regiment in 12 Brigade stationed in Uri.
“There was overwhelming situation,” sources said, “Bihar regiment troopers had reached the brigade headquarters but Dogra regiment army men were yet to take leave so there was space constraints.”
Army statements issued to media said that four “heavily armed militants” sneaked in to the brigade headquarters around 5 AM from its rear side. They cut down the fence and launched grenades in to the barracks before opening fire, the reports added.
Given the “space constraints” in the brigade, troopers of Dogra and Bihar regiments were sleeping in tents installed outside the barracks. They caught fire due to the ammunition used by the militants. Fire caught four barracks and entire area was engulfed in black some making it difficult for reinforcements to be airdropped.
The 12 Brigade headquarter is situated at least 6 KM away from the LoC. Following the attack, special para-troopers and commandos were airlifted and dropped near the spot to take control.
“Initially, we thought it was Chandmari, the routine fire practice of the garrisons,” one resident said. “Then there was a huge blast and initially we mistook it as resumption of shelling from Pakistan but later we realized that it was an encounter.” Later, locals fearing for their lives left for safer places to avoid collateral damages.
“The attackers were highly trained,” observed a military official, “they lobbed grenades on tents which caught fire and when those sleeping inside the tents ran outside they were fired upon.” The adjoining barracks, at least four of them, came under heavy blaze destroying them.
Defence Minister and Army Chief rushed to Srinagar as injured troopers were being airlifted to Srinagar for treatment. First time in recent history, doctors at 96 Army base hospital in Badambagh – 15 Corps headquarter – sought help from SKIMS Soura where from super speciality doctors were rushed to army garrison. The army is initiating an inquiry in to the attack to see “whether there were any lapses on part of the soldiers”.
The slain troopers were paid tributes in the garrison where Chief Minister Ms Mehbooba Mufti and 15 Corps Commander and other officers from security establishment laid floral wreaths on their bodies while as Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high level meeting in New Delhi discussing the Uri attack.
Governor N N Vohra and CM Mehbooba Mufti held a security review meeting on Sunday evening wherein Vohra stressed on ‘Multi-Agency Audit’ of security installations.
Slain soldiers were identified as:
(1) Subedar Karnail Singh, r/o Vill Shibu Chak, Teh- Bishnah, Dist Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir.
(2) Havildar Ravi Paul, r/o Samba, Dist Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir.
(3) Sepoy Rakesh Singh, r/o Vill Baddja, Dist Kaimur, Bihar.
(4) Sepoy Javra Munda, r/o Vill Meral, Dist Khuti, Jharkhand.
(5) Sepoy Naiman Kujur, r/o Vill Gumla, Chainpur, Jharkhand.
(6) Sepoy Uike Janrao, r/o Vill Nandgaon (Kh), Dist Amravati, Maharashtra.
(7) Havildar NS Rawat, r/o Vill Rajawa, Dist Rajasmand, Rajasthan.
(8) Sepoy Ganesh Shankar, r/o Vill Ghoorapalli, Dist Sant Kabir Nagar, Uttar Pradesh.
(9) Naik SK Vidarthi, r/o Vill Boknari, Dist Gaya, Bihar.
(10) Sepoy Biswajit Ghorai, r/o Vill Ganga Sagar, Dist South 24 Parganas, West Bengal.
(11) Lance Naik G Shankar, r/o Vill Jashi, Dist Satara, Maharashtra.
(12) Sep G Dalai, r/o Vill Jamuna Balia, Dist Howarah, West Bengal.
(13) Lance Naik RK Yadav, r/o Vill Balia, Uttar Pradesh.
(14) Sepoy Harinder Yadav, r/o Vill Ghazipur, Dist Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh.
(15) Sepoy TS Somnath, r/o Vill Khadangali, Dist Nashik, Maharashtra.
(16) Havildar Ashok Kumar Singh, r/o Vill Raktu Tola, Dist Bhojpur, Bihar.
(17) Sepoy Rajesh kr Singh, r/o Vill Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Sepoy HN Bala Diag and L/NK Ram Krishna are critically injured and one of the duo has been airlifted to New Delhi for advanced treatment.
