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LoC killings: Bodies of Bihar martyrs arrive in Patna

August 07, 2013 23:15 IST

The bodies of the four soldiers of Bihar regiment, who were killed after “heavily armed terrorists” ambushed an Indian army patrol along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, arrived in Patna on Wednesday night. Their funeral will take place at their respective villages on Thursday, a police official said.

A large number of security forces and jawans of Bihar regiment along with hundreds of people gathered at the Patna airport and paid salute to the martyrs.

Five soldiers were killed when the attackers, including men in Pakistani military uniform, barged into Indian territory and ambushed an army patrol at Chakan-da-Bagh sector of the Line of Control on Tuesday. The condition of another soldier, who was injured in the ambush, is slated to be critical.

The martyrs from Bihar have been identified as Sambhusaran Rai, who belonged to Ara in Bhojpur district, Vijay Kumar Rai from Bihta in Patna district, and Prem Nath and Raghunandan Prasad from Saran district.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced a state funeral for all the slain four soldiers of the 21 Bihar Regiment, along with a compensation of Rs10 lakhs for their families.

Image: Soldiers carry the coffin of their colleague who was killed in the recent Pakistani ambush along Line of Control

Photograph: Reuters

M I Khan in Patna