Initially, giving details of the incident, the Army had reported the officer died in an encounter with militants in Machil sector, close to the Line of Control. Subsequent enquiries by The Indian Express, however, showed the senior officer was shot hours after the encounter.

In the encounter, which took place on June 25, it was reported that the Army killed two militants.

Sources, however, said while one militant died in the encounter, the other was critically injured after a volley of bullets pierced his body. The militant, however, stopped further loss of blood by tying tourniquets and managed to survive for four hours till he sighted an officer heading towards the site of the encounter. Sources said,seeing Col Raghvan approach, the militant shot the officer in the head with deadly accuracy even after being critically injured.

The Machil encounter took place when the forces spotted a militant group near the LoC) and surrounded them. Two militants were gunned down during the encounter in which three Army personnel were also injured.

The killing of the officer not only points to a tactical lapse but also indicates the level of motivation and commitment of the militants who have been indoctrinated to kill their enemy ``at any cost''.

Sources said the injured militants had joined as ``shaheedi jatha'' (suicide squads).