As another soldier succumbed to his injuries in New Delhi, seventeen soldiers of the Indian Army who died in a deadly militant attack on a brigade headquarters in Uri in north Kashmir on Sunday were given send-off at a sombre ceremony at the Srinagar-based headquarters of XV Corps on Monday. Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti paid rich tributes to the soldiers and laid wreaths on their coffins before they were airlifted.
Without naming Pakistan for the deadly attack, Mehbooba had described it as an attempt to create a war-like situation.
XV Corps commander lieutenant General Satish Kumar Dua, Chief Secretary BR Sharma and Director General of Police, K Rajendra Kumar were among senior officers present at the ceremony to pay homage to the slain soldiers. The coffins covered with Tricolour were later airlifted to New Delhi.
The Chief Minister later visited the 92 Base Hospital of the Army to enquire about the welfare of the soldiers injured in the deadly attack.
Meanwhile, Sepoy K Vikas Janardhan, who was airlifted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital in New Delhi after being critically injured in the Uri attack, succumbed to injuries, raising the toll in the terror strike to 18. Two other critically injured soldiers have also been airlifted to the military hospital in New Delhi. The army vehemently denied reports that the death toll has gone up 20. The army asked the media to report accurately on casualties as it is connected to the sensibility of the families of the soldiers.
While the Uri attack was discussed widely in the power corridors in New Delhi, Governor NN Vohra held a detailed meeting with Corps Commander lt Gen S K Dua at Raj Bhawan. An official spokesman said that Governor and the Corps Commander discussed various important issues relating to internal security management and the need for stringent enforcement of counter infiltration and counter terrorism grids along the loC.
The outgoing Corps commander who is also the security advisor to chief minister was not present in a high level meeting in Srinagar on Sunday evening, which was attended by Governor and Chief Minister to review the situation in the aftermath of Uri attack.