NEW DELHI – An Indian army major and three soldiers were killed while two others were wounded on Saturday after Pakistani troops opened retaliatory fire in response to Indian aggression at the Line of Control (LoC).
The Indian army named the dead officer as Major Moharkar Prafulla Ambadas, while the injured soldiers as Lance Naik Gurmail Singh and Sepoy Pargat Singh of 16 Corps, Defence spokesperson Colonel NN Joshi confirmed.
Another soldier who died in hospital late in the evening was yet to be identified, Joshi told the media.
India regularly violates a 2003 truce along the de-facto border between the countries by indulging in unprovoked firing along the LoC.
J&K: Visuals of an army officer, and three jawans who lost their lives in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Keri (120 Infantry Brigade) Batallion Area pic.twitter.com/U8Kc06fuYM
— ANI (@ANI) December 23, 2017
Earlier this week, junior home minister Hansraj Ahir informed the Lok Sabha that 881 ceasefire violations took place along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir this year, killing at least 30 people including soldiers.
Officials said maj Ambadas, 32, was from Bhandara district of Maharashtra and is survived by his wife Avoli, reports Hindustan Times.
Lance naik Gurmail Singh (34) is from Amritsar in Punjab and is survived by his wife Kuljit Kaur and a daughter while sepoy Pargat Singh, (30) hailed from Karnal in Haryana. He is survived by his wife Ramanpreet Kaur and a son.
There are no reports of any loss of life on the Pakistani side. Pakistan army has yet to issue a statement.
