Lieutenant Commander Prerana Pravin Deosthalee will lead an all-male crew. She is currently the first lieutenant of INS Chennai, the missile destroyer that rescued a foreign merchant ship hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia last week.
Officials said that 100 more companies are expected to be sent to the valley.
The Centre had earlier ordered deployment of about 10,000 central forces personnel to Kashmir in order to strengthen counter-insurgency operations and law and order duties.
A preliminary internal assessment has concluded that the three-member suicide squad had chosen the Samba-based armoured unit with deliberate care, since a Cavalry or armoured unit is normally not as adept at counter-insurgency operations as an infantry unit, reports RS Chauhan.
The counter-insurgency operation on the Indo-Myanmar was under planning for the last three months. The June 4 ambush that killed 18 Indian soldiers only hastened the attack. Sheela Bhatt provides exclusive details of the planning for the operation.
According to latest statistics of the Home ministry, the seven forces -- the CRPF, the Border Security Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the Seema Sahastra Bal, the Central Industrial Security Forces, the National Security Guard and the Assam Rifles -- have lost 1,067 men in combat or counter-insurgency operations over a period of three years. But more than thrice -- as many as 3,611 personnel -- have died due to illnesses.
He said the state government was not heeding to the recommendation of the Justice (retd) K N Saikia Commission, which inquired into certain cases of secret (extra judicial) killings of kin of United Liberation Front of Asom members in the state during 1998-2001, to disband the Unified Command.
An Mi-17 Helicopter had landed at a field in jungle area in the midst of an active encounter area to evacuate the jawans and brought them to Raipur.
The army has gunned down two more intruding militants on the Line of Control in north Kashmir's Kupwara district.
'When there was no crime committed, everything had to be fabricated. They see it as a war, and everything is fair in love and war.'
'It is in the interest of China and Pakistan to give a bad name to the Indian Army and remove AFSPA 'completely' from the north east.' 'Hopefully, better sense will prevail and the ground realities of the army countering insurgency in the north east acknowledged,' asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Lt Gen Anil Chauhan (retired) will assume charge as India's new Chief of Defence Staff on Friday, an appointment that is expected to bring the focus back on the implementation of the ambitious theaterisation drive to bring synergy among the three services.
The police chief asked the youth to focus on studies and their careers and not indulge in violence by getting swayed by the propaganda.
Officials said the entire forest area from Mendhar to Thanamandi remains under a strict cordon and a massive search operation is on to neutralise the terrorists moving from one place to another in an attempt to escape the dragnet.
The operation to track down a group of hiding terrorists, who are responsible for the killing of nine soldiers, in Bhatti Durrian forest in Mendhar along with Surankote forest in Poonch and nearby Thanamandi in Rajouri district entered the 21st day on Sunday, the officials said.
Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd) lists why India must not do away with AFSPA, but ensure enough transparency to avoid confrontation with human rights.
Five police personnel were killed and 13 others injured as Naxals blew up the bus in which they were traveling in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Tuesday, senior police officials said.
Pakistan dropped weapons and some cash in Indian currency using a drone in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, Director General of Police Dilbag Singh on Saturday said, announcing the arrest of three Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorists who had picked up the consignment near the Line of Control.
Rawat was briefed on the prevailing security situation in J&K Valley and recent operations conducted by the security forces.
'The Kuki-Zo are aware of this rich resource in their areas and feel the Meitei push for ST status is because of this reason'.
"Alert troops noticed movement of heavily armed militants along the Line of Control in Keran sector of Kupwara at around 2.30 am. The militants were challenged, triggering off exchange of firing between the two sides," an army official said.
The decision on redeployment was taken after intelligence reports said South Kashmir had turned into a militant hub.
Army man Hanamanthappa Koppad, who survived for six days buried under tonnes of snow, is a highly-motivated soldier and has served in difficult areas for 13 years in the army.
'The fraud is the electronic voting machine is being manipulated by humans, and not counting the votes that is shown on VVPAT.'
What drives Pakistani men to join its military, despite the toll it takes on them?
Pakistan may want to undertake a 'false flag' operation in J&K to divert attention from the situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but infiltrating one SSG battalion into J&K and having two SSG battalions waiting to follow suit means war, which Pakistan cannot afford in its current economic crisis, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The military delegation will be in Delhi "shortly" and confer with top Indian Army officials as well as those in the ministry of external affairs to evolve a road map for a counter-insurgency strategy, reports Nitin Gokhale.
The Army has appointed Lt Gen NPS Hira as Deputy Chief of Army Staff with effect from March 14.
The people of Oting in Mon district in the northeastern state said they will erect a monolith in memory of the 14 people on the first anniversary of the killings.
Army Chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag will hold a closed-door strategy meeting with senior army officials in Guwahati to review the prevailing situation in Assam where 81 people have been killed following attacks by NDFB(S) militants.
Before assuming charge of the CDS, Gen Chauhan paid tributes to India's fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial in the India Gate complex.
The PMG was announced by the Union home ministry on the occasion of the 74th Republic Day, being celebrated on January 26 (Thursday).
The United States will provide security assistance to Pakistan to help it build counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism capabilities under a joint five-year plan developed by the two countries.
The armed forces are seeking an enhancement of allowances for their personnel posted in "hardship" areas on the pattern of high-altitude Siachen in Jammu and Kashmir.
Military affairs experts said his key challenge will be to build consensus among the three services for the theaterisation plan as the Indian Air Force has some apprehensions about its roll-out.
'They only bring pieces. Dialogue is the only way forward.' 'We should get people who have influence to bring the community leaders to sit across the table and talk.' 'Otherwise, our adversaries across the borders will add fuel to the fire. Let's not give them a chance.'
"I had clearly said that any case of moral turpitude and corruption will be dealt with in a very stern manner. The Court of Inquiry has recommended that we should go in for court martial proceedings. Last month, an Army Court of Inquiry indicted Maj Gogoi for "fraternising" with a local woman at a Srinagar hotel and being away from his place of duty.
Farooq Ahmed Dar said he was yet to be called by the police or the army -- which has instituted a court of inquiry into the incident of April 9 -- for his side of the story.
Officials said gunshots were heard as the joint search parties of the Army and the police resumed the operation in Poonch's Mendhar area. However, it was not immediately clear whether it was speculative firing by the search parties or fresh contact was established with the terrorists, they said.
Signalling stepped up operations in junglemahal after withdrawal of the offer of ceasefire by the Maoists and the killing of two Trinamool Congressmen, the West Bengal government has recalled senior Indian Police Service officer Manoj Verma as superintendent of police, counter insurgency force.
