Scores of people turn up at houses of Army officers killed in encounter with terrorists in J&K

Scores of people on Thursday turned up at the residences of Colonel Manpreet Singh and Major Ashish Dhonchak, killed in a gunfight with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag, to mourn the loss, with some saying the Army should give a befitting reply to the ultras for the cowardly act.

A number of villagers turned up at the houses of Singh (in Mohali's Mullanpur) and Dhonchak (in Panipat) in the morning.

The families of the two slain Army officers were inconsolable.

The mortal remains of the two are expected to reach their respective places by the evening, the family members said.

Officials said the bodies of the two deceased officers have been brought to the Army's 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar.

They said Singh's wife, a lecturer in a college, was given the news of her husband's death in the morning after being told on Wednesday that he was seriously injured.

A third-generation soldier, Singh has left behind a two-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son.

Dhonchak's family includes his wife, a two-year-old daughter and three sisters.

Those who turned up to express grief and be with the families in this tragic hour said the Army should give a befitting reply to the terrorists.

"Everyone knows that Pakistan has waged a proxy war. Our Army should give a befitting reply once and for all, so that no mother has to mourn the loss of her son, no sister loses her brother again in this manner, no wife loses her husband and no child loses its father," an elderly man who lives in Dhonchak's neighbourhood told reporters in Panipat.

While Dhonchak's family lives in Panipat's Sector 7, his native village is Binjhol in Panipat district. His family said he was supposed to come home on leave next month.

Singh's in-laws live in Panchkula's Sector 26 in Haryana.

His wife's brother told reporters in Panchkula that they received information of the tragedy on Wednesday evening.

However, Singh's wife was informed about it only on Thursday morning, he said.

Holding on to his two-year-old granddaughter, Singh's father-in-law Jagdev told reporters that the slain officer had received the Sena Medal last year.

Singh's uncle told reporters that since childhood, the deceased officer had shown leadership qualities.

"He was always smiling and ready to help others," he said.

A relative of Dhonchak told reporters in Panipat that he sacrificed his life for the sake of the country.

Three Army personnel, including the colonel and the major, and a deputy superintendent of the Jammu and Kashmir Police were killed in the gunfight with terrorists in the higher reaches of the Kokorenag area in the valley.

Singh, the commanding officer of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Dhonchak and Deputy Superintendent of Police Humayun Bhat were critically injured in the gunfight that ensued in the Garol area of Anantnag district in the morning hours of Wednesday.

The officers succumbed to their injuries during treatment.