Shopian attack: Mehbooba pays tribute to martyred soldiers

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today paid floral tributes to two soldiers, including a Major rank officer, who were killed as militants opened fire on a search party in Shopian district of Kashmir.
Major Kamlesh Pandey and Sepoy Tanzin Chhultim were killed, and a jawan was injured in the firing by militants at Zainapora in Shopian district during a cordon and search operation launched by security forces.
Mehbooba and her deputy Nirmal Singh, joined Chinar Corps Commander Lt. Gen. J S Sandhu and officials from civil and police administration, to pay rich tributes to Major Pandey and Sepoy Tanzin Chhultim, in a solemn ceremony at Badamibagh cantonment here, an Army official said.

Major Pandey was a spirited and daring officer who joined the Army in June 2012, said the official.
He hailed from Almora in Uttrakhand and is survived by his wife and a two-year-old daughter.
Sepoy Chhultim (25), a resident of Lahaul Spiti area of Himachal Pradesh, had joined the Army in September 2012, he added. Sepoy Chhultim will be remembered by his comrades as a true patriot and is survived by his parents.
The mortal remains of the martyrs will be taken to their native places for conducting last rites with full military honours, the official said, adding the Army stands in solidarity with the bereaved families and remains committed to their dignity and well being.