Newly decorated Col. dies battling terrorists

Colonel Munindra Nath Rai, the commanding officer of the 42 Rashtriya Rifles, who was decorated with the Yudh Seva Medal on Monday was killed died battling a group of terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Tuesday. 

Rai was conferred the award for outstanding contribution in operations against terrorists in South Kashmir last year, an army spokesman said. 

A  police personnel and two terrorists were also killed in the encounter, which took place at Mindora village, 36 km from Srinagar. 

The operation had been launched on Sunday morning after security forces got a tip-off that a local resident affiliated to Hizbul Mujahideen had come home along with some accomplices. 

The deceased militants have been identified as Adil Khan, a resident of Mindora, and Shiraz Dar. Two AK 47 rifles and a grenade besides some ammunition have been recovered from the scene of the encounter.