In the wreath laying ceremony for the slain Colonel Santosh Mahadik in Srinagar, all the officers and the jawans of the 41 RR paid their tributes to him.
He will be cremated with full military honours including a 21-gun salute in his village, Pogarwadi.
Colonel Santosh Mahadik died during an operation in Kupwara last year. His wife Swati Mahadik says joining the Indian Army allows her to keep his memory alive.
The equestrian statue of the Maratha warrior king has been installed at the Army's 41 Rashtriya Rifles Maratha Light Infantry Regiment in the north Kashmir district which shares its border with Pakistan. Special prayers were held by a priest on the occasion.
"This Diwali, we thought of his comrades in arms, who suffer harsh climes and the enemy from across the border, as well as some within. We thought this would be a nice gesture for soldiers, who spend Diwali away from their families," said one of Santosh Mahadik's friends.
Another woman -- Nidhi Dubey -- was also commissioned as an officer.
A police constable was also injured in an encounter that is still going on.
Nidhi Dubey and Swati Mahadik will join the Indian Army as officers just as their deceased soldier husbands did before them.
Lieutenant Colonel SK Natt was evacuated to a hospital for treatment.
An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' termed the Supreme Court order as the victory of "women power", and said the Centre needs to change its attitude and vision. The apex court's verdict meant there was a problem in the central government's "mental frame", it said.
The militants hurled a hand grenade at the CRPF troopers, who were part of a road opening party, in Pampore town on the strategic Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Four militants, including three of Hizbul Mujahideen, were on Monday killed in two gunfights during search operations in the Kashmir valley, officials said.
'It is all about money (that BCCI wants to play Pakistan) but in times like these you have to rise above monetary gains'
The team of 21 Rashtriya Rifles had entered the house of a civilian to prevent a hostage situation when they came under attack from the terrorists who had already reached there. While the four army personnel and the police Sub Inspector lost their lives in the encounter, the civilians trapped in the house were safely evacuated.
Nine years after he sacrificed his life to capture 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab, Tukaram Omble's daughter says that citizens must realise that losing security personnel is not only the family's loss but also that of the country.
The prime minister said he had kept this three-year-old programme away from politics and had tried to connect with the people without getting swayed by the (political) "heat" and "anger" that may prevail at any particular time.
So worried is Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde of desertions that he is asking rebel MLAs in Guwahati to sign affidavits affirming that they won't go back on supporting the 'cause of Hindutva' after reaching Mumbai.
As India celebrates its 67th Republic Day, Rediff.com takes a look at some brave men who stood their ground to protect their country from those who sought to bleed it.
In the third phase of the Lok Sabha election on April 23, 116 seats spread across 13 states and two Union Territories, will go to the polls.
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