Puri Village Grieves Death Of Odia Jawan Martyred In Poonch Terror Attack

Hundreds of villagers in Puri district grieve the death of Odia Jawan who lost his life in the Poonch terror attack.

Gloom set in Khandayat Sahi in Odisha’s Puri district after people found out that a jawan from the village was one of the five Army personnel killed after their vehicle caught fire following the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. The deceased Odia jawan was identified as Debashis Biswal of Khandayat Sahi of Alaguma panchayat near Sakhigopal in the Puri district of Odisha.

On Thursday, five Army personnel were killed and one was seriously injured after their vehicle in the terror attack in Poonch.

After the news of Biswal’s demise spread, a large number of people gathered at his house. Biswal’s remains are to be flown to Bhubaneswar on Friday, hundreds of people are waiting in the village, news agency PTI reported.

"We are pained as well as proud that a son of our soil has been a martyr. He was a great person and takes part in all the events in the village during holidays. He had visited the village barely four months ago," Biswal's cousin Lalit Kishore Nayak told PTI.

Meanwhile, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday expressed grief over the demise of an Odia jawan among the five security personnel killed in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Taking to Twitter, Patnaik said: "It is too painful to learn about the martyrdom of brave Odia jawan Debashis Biswal at Poonch sector of J&K. His sacrifice for the nation will be remembered for all time to come. I convey my condolence to the family members of the great martyrs."

While extending condolence, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that sacrifice of Biswal will not go in vain.

The proscribed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed affiliate PAFF (People's Anti-Fascist Front) claimed responsibility for the attack. 

The incident occurred when the Army vehicle was moving from Bhimber Gali to Sangiot in the Poonch district. On Friday, security forces launched a massive search operation in the forests of the Bata-Doriya area of Poonch. The area has been cordoned off and drones and sniffer dogs are being used to trace terrorists, officials said, as reported by PTI.

The Army put out the names of the five martyred jawans. They are - Hav Mandeep Singh, L/Nk Debashish Baswal, L/Nk Kulwant Singh, Sep Harkrishan Singh and Sep Sewak Singh.