Jawan From Guntur Killed In J&K Encounter

An army Jawan, Maruprolu Jaswanth Reddy, who was a native of Guntur district's Bapatla mandal, in Andhra Pradesh, was killed in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir in the Sundarabani area of Rajouri yesterday.

The encounter reportedly took place when army personnel discovered, during search operations at Daddal village which were prompted by reports of terrorist movement in the area, that a group of militants had entered Indian territory through the border. In the ensuing confrontation, Reddy and Naib Subedar Sreejith lost their lives. Two Pakistani terrorists were also killed.

(This was the second instance of a ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the Line of Control in the last two days. On Wednesday, however, the attempts of the infiltrators to stir up trouble had been foiled by the army, a press report had said.)

The 23-year-old had joined the army in 2016 in the 17th Madras regiment. After his training, he was posted to Nilagiri and then transferred to Jammu and Kashmir.

Reddy's parents had been planning to get the youngster married soon. The family is currently waiting for the arrival of the body.

On learning of the demise of the young soldier, AP Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan expressed his grief over the jawan's death. In a message released today, he offered his condolences to the bereaved family.