Colonel killed in J&K gunbattle

Colonel Neeraj Sood,commanding the 18 Rashtriya Rifles in Kashmir,was killed in a gunbattle with militants.

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Colonel Neeraj Sood,commanding the 18 Rashtriya Rifles in Kashmir,was killed in a gunbattle with militants in the forests of the Lolab Valley in Kupwara district late Tuesday night.

The 39-year-old,commissioned in the 8 Rajputana Rifles in 1992,was leading a Quick Reaction Team (QRT) to the encounter site at Chewan when he was shot in the head.

Sood is survived by his wife Priti and 11-year-old daughter Mishika who are staying in Srinagar. Only last month,he had celebrated his 12th marriage anniversary.

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The gunfight broke out soon after Army jawans cordoned off the area around 9 pm on Tuesday. The commanding officer was hit by a bullet. He was evacuated but succumbed to injuries, a Defence spokesman told The Indian Express.

His wife and daughter left for Delhi with his body on Wednesday. The spokesman said the operation was still on in Lolab. Station House Officer Sogam Sajjad Ahmad said the CO was hit by a militant bullet deep inside the Chewan forest. The Army,he said,had prior information about the presence of militants. Ahmad said it was possible that the officer and his team had been ambushed in Chewan.

Sood had been commanding the 18 RR since September 2008. He had served in different parts of the Valley and was also an instructor at the Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School in Vairengte in Mizoram.

He is the fourth officer killed in Valley gunbattles in the last six months.

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On February 24,Captain Devinder Singh Jass and two soldiers were killed in an encounter in Sopore. On March 4,an Army Captain was killed fighting militants in Dadsar village in South Kashmirs Tral area.

On May 6,another Major and a Rifleman of 7 Garhwal were killed in an encounter in North Kashmirs Bandipore district.