lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami, a Special Forces Commando of the Army who laid down his life while battling militants in Handwara on Thursday, had eliminated 10 militants in a short span of 11 days before making the supreme sacrifice in Kashmir. Goswami took part in three encounters in the last three days in Hafrada forests of north Kashmir’s Vilgam, Handwara, Uri and Rafiabad areas. The Uri and Rafiabad encounters were inter-linked.
The commando belonging to 9 Para Regiment, died on August 3 while fighting a group of suspected lashkar-e-Tayyeba militants while three of his colleagues were wounded when a joint team of Handwara police, 9 Para Regiment, 6 Rashtriya Rifles and 98 Battalion CRPF cordoned off the Hafrada jungle area and engaged militants in an overnight gunfight.
“He (Goswami) was actively involved in three counter-terrorism operations in Kashmir valley in which 10 terrorists have been eliminated and one captured alive,” Udhampur-based Defence spokesperson Colonel SD Goswami said.
The spokesperson said Goswami volunteered to join the elite Para Commando outfit of the Army in 2002 and went on to gain the reputation of being one of the toughest soldiers of his unit — “no small feat in an outfit that boasts of being one among the best in the world”. The lance Naik volunteered for all operational missions undertaken by his unit and was a part of numerous successful counter-terrorist operations in Jammu & Kashmir.
A day before Hafrada encounter, another soldier and a lashkar-e-Islam (leI) militant had died in fierce gun-battle in Rafiabad. The leI is a splinter group of Hizbul Mujahideen and slain militant Riyaz Ahmad Mir, alias Gosha, was involved in a number of attacks on security forces and civilians including telecom operators.
On Thursday, Goswami's mortal remains were dispatched for funeral to his home state following a wreath laying ceremony at headquarters of XV Corps in Srinagar. Sources said while fighting the holed up militants in dense forest, lance Naik Goswami had received bullet injuries. He was evacuated from the encounter site but succumbed to his wounds on way to hospital. Three other jawans were wounded in the encounter. They are now recuperating at 92 Base Hospital.
This was the third encounter in a span of 11 days in north Kashmir area, which resulted into killing of nine militants and two soldiers. On August 24, encounter took place in Qazinag Dhar area of Uri near line of Control (loC) after security forces intercepted a group of militants. One militant was killed in the encounter. The militants took a treacherous route through forested area to avoid further confrontation with the Army but they were intercepted again in Rafiabad. Three militants were killed in the subsequent gunfight while a Pakistani militant was captured alive.
Another encounter took place in ladoora area of Rafiabad on September 2 that resulted into death of a soldier and a militant.