Two army Majors, nine militants killed in Kashmir gunbattle
By PTI
Wednesday October 3, 04:21 PM
Srinagar, Oct 3 (PTI) Two army Majors and nine militants were killed in the three-day-long gunbattle in Tangmarg area of Baramulla district which ended today.
The bodies of the militants have been recovered from the site of the encounter at Ringiwalla Khall village in Baramulla district this afternoon, a defence spokesman said.
The encounter broke out on Monday night when troops of 34 Rashtriya Rifles launched a search operation in the village following specific information about presence of militants.
The search party came under heavy fire from the hiding militants and an encounter ensued, the spokesman said.
Though the group affiliation of the slain militants was being ascertained, sources said they belonged to Al-Badr militant outfit and included a self-styled divisional commander.
The spokesman said two army Majors, K P Vinay and D R Raman, were killed in the gunbattle with militants while two jawans were injured.
Major Raman succumbed to injuries this morning while Major Vinay was killed in the initial firefight. The injured jawans have been hospitalised and are stable, he added.
At least ten houses were destroyed in the exchange of fire between the two sides but so far there were no reports of civilian casualties.
According to sources, the militants had infiltrated from across the LoC in Gulmarg sector on Sunday night and made their way to Ringiwalla Khal where they were confronted by the troops of 34 Rashtriya Rifles.
A huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from the slain militants, the spokesman said.
Source - http://in.news.yahoo.com/071003/20/6lhia.html
How is it that two high ranking officers died yet no enlisted soldiers were wounded?
QUOTE(Suijen @ Oct 5 2007, 01:24 PM) 
How is it that two high ranking officers died yet no enlisted soldiers were wounded?
Maybe there were snipers?
QUOTE(kkdkckrl @ Oct 5 2007, 12:40 PM)
Maybe there were snipers?
That's enlisted work. Did these two guys just take on the 9 militants on their own?
QUOTE(Suijen @ Oct 5 2007, 02:45 PM)
That's enlisted work. Did these two guys just take on the 9 militants on their own?
I meant among the militants. The article says "34 Rashtriya Rifles" came under attack, that would mean the entire unit came under attack. Anyway, its quite sad. One of the majors was supposed to get married in a month, and is now dead.
QUOTE(kkdkckrl @ Oct 5 2007, 01:10 PM)
I meant among the militants. The article says "34 Rashtriya Rifles" came under attack, that would mean the entire unit came under attack. Anyway, its quite sad. One of the majors was supposed to get married in a month, and is now dead.
OH...yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
One of the Majors, Maj. Dinesh Raman's cousin writes.
http://bohemianfreespirit.blogspot.com/2007/10/saying-goodbye-is-another-way-of-saying.html
http://bohemianfreespirit.blogspot.com/2007/10/saying-goodbye-is-another-way-of-saying.html
Ashok Chakra for Major Dinesh Raghu Raman
Saturday January 26 2008 00:00 IST
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI: Three Indian Air Force pilots are among those who have been awarded by the President of India this year for showing bravery on the line of duty.
While two of them have got the award for performing a rare adventurous task of circumnavigating the globe in a microlight, the third pilot showed exemplary courage on the call of duty in the Siachen glacier.
The President this year has approved awards of 425 gallantry and other decorations to the armed forces. This includes one Ashok Chakra, four Kirti Chakras, 22 Shaurya Chakras, two bar to Sena medals (gallantry), 107 Sena medals (gallantry), two Nao Sena medals (gallantry) and three Vayu Sena medals.
Major Dinesh Raghu Raman, who was killed in a gun battle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir last year, has been awarded country's highest peacetime gallantry award Ashok Chakra. He will be honoured with three others – Captain Harshan, Colonel Vasanth Venugopal and Naib Subedar Chunni Lal – on Saturday by the President. The three, all posthumously, were chosen for the decoration on the even of Independence Day, last year.
Major Dinesh Raghu Raman, who grew up in New Delhi, was posted to 34 Rashtriya Rifles Batallion. In October last year, he deployed his company in a village in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir where an encounter with militants was taking place.
When he was closing on a suspected hide-out of the militants, he heard an injured fellow officer screaming for help. Major Raman crawled to reach out to the hospital as he came under heavy fire from the militants. He managed to bring the officer to safety and returned to take on the terrorists, killing two.
The battle left him severely wounded and he later succumbed to his injuries. Exceptional courage was also shown by pilots of the Indian Air Force. Squadron leader Shantanu Basu, a helicopter pilot, died while on a difficult mission in the treacherous terrains of Siachen last year.
In April last year, he was leading a two helicopter formation on an air logistics support sortie to Amar helipad on the Siachen glacier. It was an extreme task as the density altitude at Amar is more than 20,000 feet.
The helipad is located close to Actual Ground Position Line separating India and Pakistan posts. Flying close to AGPL in extreme climatic conditions brings the best out of a pilot.
Squadron leader Basu's sortie was normal till final approach when the aircraft encountered tail winds. This led the pilot to perform an overshoot on short finals. While the tail winds were being negotiated, the helicopter experienced a sudden loss of power and height after crossing the helipad.
Basu kept in cool in the emergency and asked his co-pilot to keep a close check on the engine indicators. He tried to recover the aircraft by reducing the power demand smoothly. But the engine's Jet Pipe Temperature (JPT) shot up.
The aircraft could not recover and the pilot attempted a courageous force landing across the AGPL. The helicopter crashed about 300 meters ahead of Amar helipad, leaving no chance of survival to the crew.
Source - http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEH20080125124658
Saturday January 26 2008 00:00 IST
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI: Three Indian Air Force pilots are among those who have been awarded by the President of India this year for showing bravery on the line of duty.
While two of them have got the award for performing a rare adventurous task of circumnavigating the globe in a microlight, the third pilot showed exemplary courage on the call of duty in the Siachen glacier.
The President this year has approved awards of 425 gallantry and other decorations to the armed forces. This includes one Ashok Chakra, four Kirti Chakras, 22 Shaurya Chakras, two bar to Sena medals (gallantry), 107 Sena medals (gallantry), two Nao Sena medals (gallantry) and three Vayu Sena medals.
Major Dinesh Raghu Raman, who was killed in a gun battle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir last year, has been awarded country's highest peacetime gallantry award Ashok Chakra. He will be honoured with three others – Captain Harshan, Colonel Vasanth Venugopal and Naib Subedar Chunni Lal – on Saturday by the President. The three, all posthumously, were chosen for the decoration on the even of Independence Day, last year.
Major Dinesh Raghu Raman, who grew up in New Delhi, was posted to 34 Rashtriya Rifles Batallion. In October last year, he deployed his company in a village in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir where an encounter with militants was taking place.
When he was closing on a suspected hide-out of the militants, he heard an injured fellow officer screaming for help. Major Raman crawled to reach out to the hospital as he came under heavy fire from the militants. He managed to bring the officer to safety and returned to take on the terrorists, killing two.
The battle left him severely wounded and he later succumbed to his injuries. Exceptional courage was also shown by pilots of the Indian Air Force. Squadron leader Shantanu Basu, a helicopter pilot, died while on a difficult mission in the treacherous terrains of Siachen last year.
In April last year, he was leading a two helicopter formation on an air logistics support sortie to Amar helipad on the Siachen glacier. It was an extreme task as the density altitude at Amar is more than 20,000 feet.
The helipad is located close to Actual Ground Position Line separating India and Pakistan posts. Flying close to AGPL in extreme climatic conditions brings the best out of a pilot.
Squadron leader Basu's sortie was normal till final approach when the aircraft encountered tail winds. This led the pilot to perform an overshoot on short finals. While the tail winds were being negotiated, the helicopter experienced a sudden loss of power and height after crossing the helipad.
Basu kept in cool in the emergency and asked his co-pilot to keep a close check on the engine indicators. He tried to recover the aircraft by reducing the power demand smoothly. But the engine's Jet Pipe Temperature (JPT) shot up.
The aircraft could not recover and the pilot attempted a courageous force landing across the AGPL. The helicopter crashed about 300 meters ahead of Amar helipad, leaving no chance of survival to the crew.
Source - http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEH20080125124658
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