Jammu, July 25 (IANS) Jammu and Kashmir Lt. Governor, Manoj Sinha, and the Army on Friday paid tribute to the Agniveer killed in a landmine explosion near the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district.

An official statement mentioned said that L-G Manoj Sinha paid tribute to Agniveer Lalit Kumar of 7 Jat Regiment, who laid down his life in the line of duty

“I pay my heartfelt tributes to Agniveer Lalit Kumar, who made the supreme sacrifice in service to the nation. My deepest condolences to the bereaved family. The nation stands firmly with them, in this hour of grief,” the LG said.

Army’s Udhampur headquartered northern command also paid tribute to the martyred Agniveer, saying on its official X handle, “ Lt Gen Pratik Sharma, Army Commander, #NorthernCommand and all ranks of #DhruvaCommand pay homage to the #Braveheart Agniveer Lalit Kumar, who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.

“DhruvaCommand stands firm with the bereaved family in this hour of grief”.

It must be recalled that an Agniveer was killed and two other soldiers injured in a landmine explosion near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Friday, officials said.

The injured soldiers included a junior commissioned officer (JCO). “The explosion occurred near the Victor Post in Salotri village of Poonch’s Haveli tehsil during routine patrolling by the army as part of an anti-infiltration exercise.”

The Agniveer died on the spot, while two injured soldiers were immediately shifted to the hospital for treatment.

“Doctors have described the condition of both injured soldiers as stable,” an official said.

“The Army has paid tribute to the slain Agniveer while an investigation has been started to ascertain the exact circumstances that led to the explosion,” the official added.

The slain Agniveer was identified as Lalit Kumar of the Jat Regiment, as per a condolence post on X by the Jammu-headquartered White Knight Corps.

In the wake of the April 22 terror attack by Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam, in which 26 civilians, including 25 tourists and a local, were killed, the armed forces carried out target-specific strikes against terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan and nine terror infrastructures were destroyed in those target specific strikes by the Indian armed forces in Muridke near Lahore, Bahawalpur and Kotli and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK).

In the subsequent escalation, when Pakistan targeted civilian and military targets in India, 18 Defence bases of Pakistan were damaged by the Indian armed forces.

Extraordinary vigilance is being maintained on the 740-km-long LoC and 240-km-long international border in Jammu and Kashmir.

Security forces and J&K Police are carrying out aggressive anti-terrorist operations in the hinterland against terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs) and sympathisers to dismantle the complete ecosystem of terror in the Union Territory.

L-G Sinha has been chairing regular security review meetings, and during these meetings, the objectives achieved are reviewed and new strategies discussed to combat the nefarious designs of the terrorists with the support of Pakistan.

–IANS

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