Pampore attack: Army conducts intensive search, cordons off three villages after militants kill three jawans

Following the Saturday’s attack on an Army convoy in Pampore that claimed the lives of three soldiers, the Indian Army on Sunday conducted a house to house search in the area in a quest to nab the militants behind the attack. According to a report by India Today, the Indian Army has cordoned off three villages in the region and a massive search operation is on in the region. [caption id=“attachment_2856590” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] In the lethal attack on an army convoy on Saturday, three Indian soldiers were killed, while two other jawans were injured. The attack was staged at a place crowded with civilians in Pampore of Jammu and Kashmir on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway. According to a report in PTI, army sources said that the militants were able to inflict casualties as the forces exercised restraint and did not retaliated in order to avoid civilian casualties. The army convoy was on its way from Jammu to Srinagar when the attack took place in Pampore. Preliminary investigations suggest that the militants might have used motorcycles to carry out the deadly attack and search operations were going on in the surrounding areas since Saturday. Meanwhile, the Indian Army on Sunday payed tribute to the martyrs: Naik (Gnr) Ratheesh, Gunner Farate Sourabh Nandkumar and Gunner Shashikant Pandey. In a solemn ceremony at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar, many senior officials from security agencies including Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF, BSF and SSB, joined General Officer Commanding, Chinar Corps, Lt Gen J S Sandhu and all ranks in paying homage to the martyrs. Many officials from the civil administration, including Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Baseer Ahmed Khan were also present on the occasion. “Martyr Naik (Gnr) Ratheesh C (35) had joined army in 2001 and hailed from Kotolipram, Kannur district in Kerala and is survived by his wife and a son,” an Indian Army official told PTI. He said 33-year-old Gunner Farate Sourabh Nandkumar of Bhekrai Nagar village in Pune of Maharasthra had donned the uniform in 2004 and is survived by his wife and twin daughters. Gunner Shashikant Pandey (24) had four years of service and was on his way to join his unit in the Valley. Hailing from Zharian area of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand, he is survived by his parents, the official said. The mortal remains of the martyrs would be flown for last rites to their native places where they would be laid to rest with full military honours, he said. With inputs from PTI