A valiant junior commissioned officer and a hero of the Siachen conflict, Naib Subedar
Chunni Lal, was killed on Sunday even as he shot down five intruding terrorists near the Line of Control in North Kashmir.
Lal, belonging to the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry, displayed exemplary courage and leadership when he charged at a group of heavily-armed terrorists who had sneaked across the LoC on Sunday night.
According to official reports, Lal was heading a party of troops, which had trapped all escape routes of intruding terrorists when he found that another group was attempting to join the fight to break the cordon.
Not caring for his life, Lal charged into the group, killing three terrorists with his bayonet and gunning down two others, before falling to bullets.
According to reports, 'this act of great bravery, leadership and supreme sacrifice by Subedar Chunni Lal not only resulted in elimination of five Pakistani terrorists, but also saved the lives of fellow soldiers under his command.'
This is not the first time Lal had courted danger. He was awarded the Sena Medal for his role in the capture of key Bana post at a height of 21,153 feet on Siachen glacier and a Vir Chakra for peace keeping operations in Sudan.