Lance Naik Yogesh Muralidhar Bhadane. (source: ANI)
An Indian Army soldier was killed as Pakistani troops, in yet another incident of ceasefire violation along the Line of Control on Saturday, opened unprovoked firing on forward Indian positions in Sunderbani area of Rajouri district.
Identifying the deceased as Launce Naik Yogesh Muralidhar Bhadane, 28, sources said the Indian troops retaliated strongly and effectively. However, during the exchange of fire, he was grievously injured and succumbed to his injuries. Hailing from Maharashtra’s Khalane village in Dhule district, he is survived by his wife Punam Yogesh.
Lance Naik Yogesh Muralidhar Bhadane was a brave and sincere soldier, an army spokesperson said, adding that the nation will always remain indebted to him for the supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty.
Meanwhile, a 12-year-old boy was seriously injured when an unexploded mortar shell went off near the LoC in Poonch district. Identified as Mohammad Iqbal, 12, a resident of Shahpur, he found the shell in an open field near Qasba village around 11:45 am and began fiddling with it, sources said. The boy lost both his hands in the explosion.
The mortar shell was apparently fired by Pakistani troops during cross-border shelling in the recent past and it had remained undetected, sources said.