Army bids a tearful adieu to Hyderpora attack martyrs

Army on Wednesday bid a tearful adieu to eight soldiers who were killed in a brazen militant attack at Hyderpora bypass in the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday.

 General Officer Commanding of Srinagar-based Chinar Corps, Lt Gen Gurmit Singh, led the officers and jawans in paying floral tributes to the eight soldiers at a ceremony held at the headquarters of Chinar Corps at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar

As many as 16 soldiers were also injured in the attack which came just a day before the two-day visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to the state.

Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police Ashok Prasad also attended the ceremony and laid wreaths on the coffins as a special gesture and symbol of jointness, a defence spokesman said.

Lauding the brave soldiers, Lt Gen Gurmit Singh said "my heart goes out to the families and relatives of the martyrs.

"May God bestow strength to bear the loss. Chinar Corps salutes them and their martyrdom will only strengthen our resolve to bring peace in Kashmir," Lt Gen Singh said.

The spokesman said the names of the jawans will be engraved at the Chinar Corps Memorial and their contribution towards peace in the KashmirValley will become part of the history.

Among the martyrs were Hav Lalrohula from Aizwal (Mizoram), Lance Naik Z Lalringhetta from Mamit (Mizoram), Sepoys Adwaita Nandi from Bankura, Pravin Das from Udalguri (Assam), John Lalumi Vajphei from Churachandpur (Manipur) Moanung Sang from Mokokchung (Nagaland), Signalmen Yadaiah M from Mahbubnagar (AP) and Girdhari Prajapati from Balia (UP).

On June 25, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad had visited the BaseHospital at the cantonment to honour the martyrs personally.

The PM had expressed that the country is proud of what army is doing in the service of the nation.

The dignitaries also met the injured jawans undergoing treatment at the hospital and prayed for their speedy recovery.

Image: Army personnel taking positions following a militant strike in Hyderpora on Monday

Photograph: Umar Ganie