Top Army officer leads wreath-laying ceremony for 2 soldiers lost their lives in IED blast in Jammu

Jammu, Feb 12 (PTI) General Officer Commanding of the Jammu-based White Knight Corps, Lieutenant General Navin Sachdeva, on Wednesday led the wreath-laying ceremony of two Army personnel, including a captain, who were killed in an IED blast near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Akhnoor sector here the previous day.

The solemn wreath-laying ceremony to pay homage to Captain Karamjit Singh Bakshi from Jharkhand’s Ranchi and Naik Mukesh Singh Manhas from Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba was held at the Indian Air Force (IAF) station here at 2 pm, before the mortal remains of the deceased were dispatched to their hometowns for the last rites.

Lt Gen. Sachdeva and other ranks laid wreaths at the tricolour-wrapped coffins of the deceased, officials said, adding that senior IAF, police and civil officers, including Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Anand Jain and Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone, Bhim Sen Tuti, also attended the ceremony.

A powerful improvised explosive device (IED), believed to have been planted by terrorists, exploded near a forward post in Akhnoor’s Bhattal area on Tuesday, killing the two Army personnel and injuring another.

Army troops conducted a massive search operation following the blast but there was no trace of the terrorists, who are believed to have fled across the border after setting off the IED.

The bodies of the bravehearts were flown to their hometowns where their funeral will be held with full military honours later in the day, the officials said.

Incidentally, both Captain Bakshi and Naik Manhas were scheduled to get married in April, they added.