President to meet terrorist-slayer Ruksana

For young Ruksana, who killed a terrorist to protect her family, Friday will be a day to cherish, as President Pratibha Patil has decided to meet her during her visit to Jammu region.

Although the meeting was not on her itinerary, the President has carved out time especially to meet the brave girl who elicited praise from across the country for her daredevil act, official sources said.

Twenty two-year-old Ruksana has been praised by Home Minister P Chidambaram and also awarded by the Jammu and Kashmir government for her act of bravery.

Ruksana had killed a top Pakistani terrorist belonging to Lashkar-e-Tayiba and injured another at Kalsian village in Rajouri district, about 217 km from Jammu on the night of September 27.

She, along with her sibling, had overpowered the terrorist, snatched his rifle and fired at him, killing him on the spot.

Patil will be visiting forward areas of the Line of Control (LoC) in the border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir to assess the overall situation along the Indo-Pak border and boost the morale of security forces.

She will get a briefing from the field commanders on the overall security situation along the border during her visit, they said.

The President will also take stock of the border fencing work and anti-infiltration measures taken in the forward areas besides interacting with troops on the forward posts, they added.