Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday expressed condolences to the bereaved family of Siddhant Chetri who lost his life during an encounter with terrorists in Rajouri’s Khandi area.

Taking to Twitter, Mamata said, “Deeply shocked to learn that our Siddhant Chetri, a 25-year young jawan from Bijanbari, Darjeeling, is among the five valiant soldiers of the Indian Army, who lost their lives during an encounter with the terrorists in a special operation at Rajouri in J&K yesterday.” The deceased soldiers are Lance Naik Ruchin Singh Rawat, Paratrooper Siddhant Chettri, Naik Arvind Kumar, Hav Neelam Singh, and Paratrooper Pramod Negi.

Mamata further wrote that our patriotic jawans laid down their lives in a bid to neutralise the terrorists and their supreme sacrifice will never be forgotten.

“I offer my sincere condolences to the bereaved families of Siddhant Chetri and the other patriots who lost their lives yesterday,” Mamata tweeted.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday departed from the national capital for Jammu to review the situation in the ongoing encounter between security forces and terrorists in Rajouri’s Kandi area.

This comes a day after five soldiers were killed during the anti-terror ‘Operation Trinetra’ of the Indian Army with Jammu and Kashmir Police and the CRPF.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha this morning paid tribute to the five Army personnel who lost their lives on Friday when terrorists triggered an explosive device during the Rajouri encounter.
The Indian Army is conducting operations to flush out a group of terrorists involved in an ambush on an army truck in the Tota Gali area of Bhata Dhurian in the Jammu region about a fortnight ago, where another five soldiers lost lives.

Meanwhile, according to recent updates, Army officials said that “one terrorist was neutralised and one likely injured” in a fresh exchange of fire in Kandi in the early hours of Saturday.

The first contact was established with the terrorists at around 1.15 am, resulting in an exchange of fire when terrorists attempted to escape from the cordon. At around 5 am, the cordon was readjusted and the gunbattle continued, Army officials said.

Northern Army commander Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi also participated in a solemn wreath-laying ceremony on behalf of all ranks of the Northern Command of the Indian Army and paid homage to the five Army personnel who lost their lives on Friday.