Chandigarh/Jammu, Jan 23: The mortal remains of ten soldiers who perished in a tragic road accident in Doda were sent to their respective home states for final rites following a solemn wreath-laying ceremony at the technical airport on Friday. The fallen personnel were part of a team moving toward the high-altitude Khanni peak for an anti-terror operation when their vehicle veered into a deep gorge on the Bhaderwah-Chamba interstate highway.
Lieutenant General PK Mishra, General Officer Commanding of the White Knight Corps, led the military honors alongside top officials from the Indian Air Force, BSF, and CRPF. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha joined the high-ranking officers in placing floral wreaths on the tricolour-draped coffins.
The soldiers identified during the ceremony included Jobanjit Singh from Rupnagar, Sudhir Narwal from Yamunanagar, and Mohit from Jhajjar, marking a heavy loss for the region. Other personnel who lost their lives were Monu and Rinkhil Baliyan from Uttar Pradesh, Shailendra Singh Bhadauria from Madhya Pradesh, Sameeran Singh and Pradumna Lohar from West Bengal, Hare Ram Kumar from Bihar, and Ajay Lakra from Jharkhand.
“The nation stands in solidarity with the bereaved families of our brave soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty,” a senior official noted during the proceedings.
The incident occurred on Thursday when an army armoured vehicle, navigating the 9,000-foot-high terrain, fell into a 200-foot-deep gorge. While ten soldiers succumbed to their injuries, eleven others were rescued from the site and continue to receive medical treatment.
