New Delhi: In a heart-wrenching turn of events, an Army officer was killed, and three soldiers sustained injuries during a fierce gunbattle with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district. Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar, a Junior Commissioned Officer from the elite 2 Para (SF) unit, was martyred in action while leading a joint counter-terrorism operation in the dense forests of Bhart Ridge on Saturday.

The operation was part of an intensified search that followed the tragic killing of two village defense guards (VDGs) in the region. The encounter erupted around 11 am when combined search teams from the Army and local police cornered terrorists hiding in the forest, just a few kilometers from the location where the bullet-riddled bodies of VDGs Nazir Ahmad and Kuldeep Kumar were discovered.

The attack on the VDGs had sparked a massive manhunt that began on Thursday evening, with search operations intensifying across the Kuntwara and Keshwan forests after the VDGs were abducted and murdered by the militants. The loss of Naib Subedar Kumar has deeply shaken the nation, as the bravery and sacrifice of our soldiers continue to shine in the face of adversity.