Keran operation: Special forces got into a hand to hand battle on the Line of Control

NEW DELHI: In perhaps the most intense firefight on the Line of Control (LoC) this year, five soldiers of the elite 4 Parachute unit engaged infiltrators at point blank range amidst heavy snow, neutralising the entire batch before succumbing to injuries in the hand to hand battle.
The elite soldiers, who had been air dropped near the LoC after information on the infiltrators was received, were found barely six feet away from the five terrorists that they eliminated in the intense battle when the search party found them, with sources saying that battleground bore the signs of a close quarters battle.

Two soldiers who were airlifted to a nearby military hospital succumbed to injuries while three died at the battle zone.

Sources said that the operation commenced after an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle picked up images of an infiltration attempt in the Keran sector. The special forces were moved to intercept them as heavy snow had restricted movements on the regular army unit located in the area.

Two squads of the elite unit were deployed to locate and take down the infiltrators but the operation was carried out under heavy snow that hampered visibility. Source said that the squad led by Subedar Sanjeev Kumar spotted the footsteps on the terrorists in the snow and followed the trail.

At one point, the hardened snow under their feet gave way and three members of the squad stumbled into a nallah and right on top of the terrorists who were hiding there. In the ensuing battle at point blank range, where the terrorists had an advantage as they had been waiting, the squad managed to put up a fight.

Seeing their comrades under heavy fire, the two soldiers who had managed to evade the collapsing snow also rushed into the battle zone, together managing to take down the entire batch of five infiltrating terrorists.

“The soldiers and the terrorist were found barely a few feet away when the other squad reached the position. The para soldiers had put up a strong fight even after stumbling down and the squad members rushed in to help,” sources told ET.

Other members of the squad who paid the ultimate sacrifice are Havildar Davendra Singh and Paratroopers Bal Krishan, Amit Kumar and Chhatrapal Singh.