Delhi: In a cowardly act, three Indian soldiers were killed at the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan, the Army said on Tuesday, vowing 'heavy retribution' for the act.
The incident took place in Machhal sector in Kupwara district. The body of one of the soldiers was found tortured and mutilated.
Northern Command said in a tweet, "JKOps 3 soldiers killed in action on LC in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated, retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act."
#JKOps 3 soldiers killed in action on LC in Machhal. Body of one soldier mutilated, retribution will be heavy for this cowardly act @adgpi
— NorthernComd.IA (@NorthernComd_IA) November 22, 2016
On the other hand, officials said, "The cowardly act of mutilating the body of one of the Indian soldiers had all the signatures of a BAT (Border Action Team) operation by Pakistan Aarmy using terrorists and its soldiers," as per IANS.
The three slain soldiers are - 25-year-old Prabhu Singh of Khir Jamkhas village in Shergarh tehsil of Rajasthan, 31- year-old K Kushwah of Daddupur, Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh and 25-year-old Shashank K Singh of Nasirudinpur in Mohamadabad tehsil of Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh.
Body of Prabhu Singh was mutilated, Army sources said, as per PTI.
Meanwhile, as per media reports, Army Vice Chief Lt Gen Bipin Rawat briefed Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on the death of soldiers.
Reacting to the incident, Parrikar tweeted, "Condemn the cowardly and brutal killing of our soldiers and mutilation of one of them. Salute these brave martyrs for their supreme sacrifice."
Condemn the cowardly & brutal killing of our soldiers & mutilation of one of them. Salute these brave martyrs for their supreme sacrifice.
— Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) November 22, 2016
Earlier too, on October 28, the body of another Indian Army jawan was mutilated after being killed by terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army.
Terrorists had crossed the LoC at night and killed sepoy Mandeep Singh and mutilated his body in Kupwara district.
Also Read - Manohar Parrikar condemns cowardly killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistan
In response, the Indian Army had carried out a heavy assault in Keran sector of Jammu and Kashmir, destroying four Pakistani posts.
According to figures given by Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre in the Lok Sabha last week, till November 14 this year, eight Army personnel have been killed and 59 injured.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Bhamre also said that there has been an increase in infiltration attempts since the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani on July 8.
(With Agency inputs)
