Last journey of martyred jawans begins from Poonch

JAMMU: The last journey of the five jawans martyred in the attack by Pakistan soldiers began in the evening from Poonch town with Army officers laying wreaths on their caskets.

The bodies, were draped in the Tricolour at the military hospital in Poonch after a post-mortem, Army officials said.

Four jawans hailing from Bihar, Naik Prem Nath (35, Chappra), Lance Naik Shambhu Saran (29, Bhojpur), Sepoy Vijay Kumar Rai (27, Patna), Sepoy Ragunandan (23, Chhapra) and the 36-year-old Naik Pundalik Mane from Kolhapur in Maharastra, lost their lives in the attack today in Poonch district.

According to the Army, a group of 20 heavily-armed men led by Pakistani troops entered 450m inside Indian territory in the wee hours today and ambushed the patrol, killing the five soldiers.

Led by Brigade Commander, 93 Brigade, SK Acharya, Army officers laid wreaths on the bodies of the soldiers on behalf of General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Jammu-based 16 Corps, Lt Gen DS Hooda and others.

The Commanding Officer of the martyred soldiers' unit, Col PDS Bal, and Col Vishal Sharma also laid wreaths.

"A patrol... was ambushed by a Pakistan Border Action Team close to the Line of Control in Poonch Sector of J-K," defence spokesman SN Acharya said in an official statement.