How leopard urine helped Indian Army in carrying out surgical strike

It has been almost two years since the Indian Army carried out a surgical strike by crossing the LoC and attacking terror launchpads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, but appears that several details of the operation are still under wraps. Suggesting the level of preparation and precision involved in the operation, a senior official revealed that the troops even carried leopard urine with them.

Speaking about the surgical strike, carried out by the Indian Army on the intervening night of September 28 and 29 in 2016, Lieutenant General RR Nimbhorkar, former Nagrota Corps Commander on Wednesday said that the troops carried leopard urine with it to keep dogs at bay.

“There was a possibility of dogs in villages barking at us on the route. I knew they are scared of leopards. We carried leopard urine with us and that worked and dogs didn't dare to come forward,” he said.

The operation that went on for over five hours not only dealt a massive blow to terrorists planning major attacks in India, it also avenged the Uri attack where terrorists had killed 17 Indian Army personnel.

The strike was conducted on the intervening night of September 28 and 29 between 12.30 am and 4.30 am on the basis of credible information about some terror units positioning themselves to infiltrate into India.

The operation was conducted between 500 metres to three kilometres across the Line of Control. Commandoes of Army special forces were para dropped into the Pakistani territory by ALH Dhruv helicopters.

A book on the surgical strike later revealed that the Army had decided to use soldiers from the units that had suffered losses during the Uri attack. A Ghatak platoon was formed to provide crucial terrain intelligence and man border posts.

The operation was monitored from New Delhi by then defence minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and then Army chief General Dalbir Singh.