Wreath-Laying Ceremony For 5 Soldiers Killed In J&K's Poonch Encounter

A wreath-laying ceremony was held in Rajouri on Tuesday to pay tributes to the five soldiers who were killed in a fierce gunfight with terrorists in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Naib Subedar (Junior Commissioned Officer) Jaswinder Singh, Naik Mandeep Singh, Sepoys Gajjan Singh, Saraj Singh and Vaisakh H were part of an Army search party that came under attack from the terrorists during the operation on Monday.

All five were critically injured and later succumbed to their injuries.

A solemn ceremony was held at a military camp at Rajouri where wreaths were laid by senior Army officers and civil dignitaries to pay homage to the fallen soldiers, a defence spokesperson said.

The Indian Army salutes the sacrifices of its soldiers who laid down their lives in the service of the motherland, he said.

"The nation will always remain indebted to our bravehearts for their supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty," he said.

The spokesperson said that the body of the five soldiers will be sent to their respective hometowns on Wednesday.

While the bodies of Jaswinder Singh, Mandeep Singh and Gajjan Singh will be taken to their respective hometowns in Punjab by road, the bodies of Saraj Singh from Uttar Pradesh and Vaisakh H of Kerala will be flown to their native places, officials said.

After the wreath-laying ceremony, the bodies of all the five soldiers, wrapped in the tricolour, were moved to Jammu, they said.

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