Army on Wednesday paid glowing tributes to Colonel M N Rai, who died fighting militants in Jammu and Kashmir, recalling his efforts to reach out to youths in the militancy-hit region and said such sacrifice only strengthens its resolve to fight elements inimical to peace.
"Col Rai always led from the front in multiple operations that he carried out in 2014 and also in 2015. He combined bravery with compassion and people in Tral knew him very well for his several initiatives," General Officer Commanding of the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps Lt Gen Subrata Saha told media persons after the wreath laying ceremony at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar.
"The supreme sacrifice of the brave men only strengthens our resolve to fight all elements inimical to security of Kashmir," he said as friends and colleagues recalled the contribution of Rai, one of the senior-most officers to be killed in last one year.
Rai, 39, commanding officer of 42 Rashtriya Rifles, and head constable Sanjeev Kumar Singh Special Operations Group of Jammu and Kashmir Police were killed during the encounter in Tral in Pulawama district yesterday, in which two militants were also gunned down.
Saha said once the house where the militants were hiding was cordoned off, the father and brother of one of the terrorists approached Rai claiming that the ultra wanted to surrender. But even as Rai gave them an opportunity to do so, the militants came out of the house firing indiscriminately leading to the gunbattle.
The officer's swift actions prevented many civilian casualties during the operation, Saha said and noted that Rai had taken "a number of initiatives for the positive engagement of youth like organising cricket and football tournaments".
"Clearly under his leadership, we could say that the narrative in Tral was changing. He earned the admiration of all the administration for his meticulous planning and we have seen how Tral turned out to vote," Lt Gen Saha said.
Rai was conferred the Yudh Seva medal on the eve of Republic Day for outstanding contribution in planning and conduct of operations including a gun battle with militants in south Kashmir last year.
Saha said the security in the Kashmir Valley was being ensured with a "colossal effort" by the army and added it was a collective responsibility of all the concerned agencies to keep the local youth away from militancy.
To another question about casualties among high-ranked officers of the army during the anti-militancy encounters, Lt Gen Saha said it was because Indian army officers always led from the front.
"Clearly because traditionally and as per our ethos, Indian army officers always led from the front and it is a matter of pride for us that we have officers of such calibre and such commitment who, even at the rank of the commanding officer, very senior rank, chose to fight from the front with their men at all times," he said.
Saha also said the army would always give an opportunity to the militants to surrender wherever such a situation comes up.
"We have been giving this opportunity wherever the parents or relations do come up to try and say that they would like to ask their son or relation to surrender. So in all fairness, we try to give them this opportunity and I would not try to add any further motives to that," he said.
Praising Rai, Saha said, "he was always in the frontline, leading his men to deliver exceedingly well. Even in the operation yesterday, soon after the cordon was established, the commanding officer was in-charge right in the front when he was approached