Major killed in Poonch fighting militants

A 34-year-old army major from Jammu was killed while fighting heavily-armed militants trying to infiltrate the LoC at Sunegali in Jammu’s Poonch district late last night. Two infiltrators were killed in the gunbattle.

Major Akash Singh of 5 Maratha Light Infantry led a column of troops on the midnight mission after receiving inputs that a group of militants were trying to infiltrate from Sunegali. An operation was planned and the area was cordoned to block the entry of ultras. When militants tried to sneak-in, they were challenged and two were killed.

“The Army successfully thwarted an infiltration bid in an area 5 km south of Mendhar, at midnight. The incident occurred when three to four terrorists tried to cross over the LoC into the Indian side,” said Lt Col Biplab Nath, defence spokesman at Jammu. Major Akash Singh gallantly laid down his life fighting the militants, Nath said .

Hailing from Jammu, Major Singh was an alumnus of Officers Training Academy, Chennai. He was commissioned on September 4, 1999, soon after the Kargil war, and served in militancy-hit areas of J&K and the North East. Major Singh had returned to Poonch on August 31 after spending some days with his family. The officer is survived by wife Deepti and two children — two-year-old son Tejas and three-year-old daughter Khusi.