Army junior commissioned officer killed in foiled infiltration bid near LoC in Jammu’s Akhnoor

Srinagar: A junior commissioned officer (JCO) was killed during an encounter with infiltrators even as the army foiled the infiltration attempt from across the Line of Control (LoC) near Akhnoor in Jammu in the wee hours of Saturday.

The army identified the deceased as Subedar Kuldeep Chand of 9 Punjab battalion. He was a resident of Himachal Pradesh.

“He laid down his life while gallantly leading a counter-infiltration operation along the LoC in the Keri Battal area of Sunderbani… Subedar Kuldeep’s team’s valour and his ultimate sacrifice foiled an infiltration attempt by terrorists,” the Jammu-based White Knight Corps posted on X.

Army officials said the troops had noticed the movement of heavily armed infiltrators near a canal in the forest area of Keri Bhattal area late Friday night. The group was challenged by the armed forces, leading to a fierce exchange of fire.

The whole area has been cordoned off with deployment of reinforcements, and a search operation is going on, officials said.

The incident took place two days after India and Pakistan held a brigade commander-level flag meeting in neighbouring Poonch district to discuss issues related to border management. This was the second such meeting since February to de-escalate tension after several incidents of cross-border firing, and an IED attack along the LoC.