Lance Naik Gosavi Keshav Somgir

The Pakistan Army on Sunday provoked India for the second time in the past 24 hours by killing an Army soldier – the second since Saturday – along the Line of Control in the Noashera sector of Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district.

The incident took place at 2.45 when the Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked ceeasefire violation, Lieutenant Colonel Devender Anand, Defence spokesman at Jammu.

“Lance Naik Gosavi Keshav Somgir was critically injured due to fire from across the border. He later succumbed to gunshot wounds,” he said.

Hailing from Sri Rampur Village of Sinnar tehsil in Maharashtra’s Nashik district of Maharashtra, the 29-year-old Naik Gosavi Keshav Somgir is survived by his wife Yashoda Gosavi.

“Naik Gosavi Keshav Somgir was a brave and sincere soldier. The nation will always remain indebted to him for the supreme sacrifice and devotion to duty,” said Lieutenant Colonel Anand.

The Indian Army immediately swung into action and retaliated in equal measure to silence the Pakistani guns. “Indian army has retaliated strongly and effectively on Pakistan Army posts”, he said.

The army has vowed that the sacrifice of Naik Gosavi Keshav Somgir will not go in vain. 

Naik Somgir is the second soldier to have fallen to Pakistani firing on LoC in the last 24 hours. Rifleman Varun Katal was killed on Saturday when Pakistan sniper fired at him in Sunderbani Sector. Hailing from Village Mawa, Tehsil Rajpura in District Samba of Jammu, the 21-year-old rifleman Varun Kattal is survived by his parents Anchal Singh and Pinki Rani.

This is the fourth ceasefire violation by Pakistan in the past three days in the valley. An Army porter was killed in a sniper fire from Pakistan in the Akhnoor sector while a BSF soldier was injured in Manjakote sector of Poonch on Friday. Pakistan also violated ceasefire in Tangdhar sector of North Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Friday.

More than 109 people including 35 army soldiers and 21 BSF personnel were killed while 565 people were injured including 302 civilians and 263 security force personnel in the cross border firing since January 2016 to July 2018.

2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations and cross-border firing incidents from Pakistan both at International border and LoC. Around 1,435 cases of cross-border firing were reported from January to July 2018 alone. In 2016, the number of ceasefire violations were 449 [228 at LoC, 221 at IB] and in 2017 the number reached 971 [860 at LoC and 111 at IB].