A Ghaziabad resident was among the three jawans of the Rajput Regiment who were martyred in the militant ambush in Tirap district of eastern Arunachal Pradesh. Sanjiv Kumar, a resident of Dhindar village under Murad Nagar police station, was the havildar in the Signal Corps in 4 Rajput Regiment.
The suspected militants ambushed their vehicle on Thursday morning, official sources said. Khonsa is about 530 km east of Itanagar, the State capital. Sanjiv Kumar (40) had been outstanding in his duties. He had been in the peacekeeping force for eight months.
Sanjiv’s father, Master Jagpal Singh, said on Thursday that his son and other two jawans were killed when a group of heavily armed militants ambushed them near Old Tupi village on the Khonsa-longding Road. The security personnel were proceeding in a convoy of four vehicles from Khonsa to longding when the ambush took place. Old Tupi village is about 20 km away from Khonsa, the district headquarters. The incident occurred at about 8.30 am on Thursday.
The father claimed that Tirap official sources said Rajput Regiment personnel who had left lekhapani in Assam for longding on Wednesday, stayed overnight at Khonsa and had moved out only at about 8 am on Thursday when they were ambushed.