Rifleman Duluraj recovering in Army Hospital, Srinagar. He was injured in the Keran encounter,.
As the massive manhunt for infiltrating terrorists continues in Keran sector near the Line of Control (LoC), eyewitness accounts have emerged for the first time from soldiers who have battled fierce gunfire over the past ten days.
Speaking exclusively to NDTV, in Srinagar, one of these soldiers said that he saw 35 to 4O infiltrators as he took a bullet in the abdomen.
Six soldiers are in the intensive care unit of the Army Hospital, three of them are said to be critical. While all of them want to be back on the frontline, their injuries are so severe they may not be able to do so and may be restricted to desk jobs.
The operation entered its 14th day today. The Army has finished six massive search operations in an area of 3 km along the LoC. A huge cache of rocket launchers, AK 47s, pistols and under-barrel grenade launchers have been recovered. Sources have told NDTV that the sophistication of weapons and involvement of elements from different terror outfits or tanzeems indicate that the Pakistan Army may have backed the infiltration bid.
Though Pakistan has denied any role in the infiltration bid, the Indian Army had said the Pakistan's Border Action Team may have been involved.
There has been concern that the current infiltration attempt might lead to a situation similar to 1999, when India and Pakistan engaged in an armed conflict after Pakistanis occupied key posts in Kargil. But the Army Chief denied this. "It is nothing like that. The terrain is very, very difficult, treacherous and they are stuck in that. We will get them out, it's a question of time," General Bikram Singh said on Friday.
Two army generals - General Officer Commanding in Chief, Northern Command, Lt Gen Sanjiv Chachra and General Officer Commanding of the 15 Corps Lt Gen Gurmit Singh - yesterday visited the Keran sector and, later, apprised Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah about the prevailing security scenario in the state.
There have been over 120 ceasefire violations this year - highest in eight years - along the Line of Control. The number of infiltration attempts from across the border has also doubled compared to last year.