Five others including four troopers and a local village headman were critically wounded in the encounter.

Police in north Kashmir said troops of 34 counter-insurgency Rashtriya Rifles cordoned off a house in the Rangwali Khar village of north Kashmir Baramulla district on Tuesday morning following specific information about the presence of a group of militants there.

"As the troops neared the house in which the militants had been hiding, they came under heavy automatic gunfire. The militants also hurled grenades at the approaching troops," a senior police officer said.

"Major K P Vinay died on the spot while Major D Raghuraman who had sustained fatal gunshot injuries succumbed to his wounds in the hospital," the police officer said.

The injured persons were immediately airlifted for treatment to the army's base hospital inside the headquarters of the 15th Corps in Srinagar.

Major Vinay's family members were shocked with the news of his death as he was supposed to return home later this month and proceed to Bangalore for his marriage on October 29.

Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Tayiba claimed the nine militants killed in a lengthy gun battle belonged to their group.

"All the nine mujahideen killed were members of LeT and belonged to a fresh group, who came to Kashmir valley recently," the outfit's spokesman Abdullah Ghaznavi told local news agencies in Srinagar.

He said the slain militants did not include any commander of the outfit.

The holy month of Ramzan remained the most violent period of the year 2007 in Jammu and Kashmir, with about 45 militants being gunned down in the past fortnight.

The infiltration bids from across the border and encounters between security forces and militants touched a new high during the holy Islamic month, despite several political and social organisations demanding a break in fighting.

On average, a single Ramadan day witnessed at least three ultras being shot dead in counter-insurgency operations in the state, while some innocent civilians and army officers also lost their lives.

With the killing of the nine militants on Wednesday, a total of 26 dreaded militants were gunned down in the Jammu region in the second half of the previous month.

Several hundred citizens on Friday bid tearful adieu to slain Major Vinay.

The body of Major Vinay was brought to Hyderabad by a flight on Thursday night. The casket was taken in an ambulance from Begumpet airport to the major's residence at Bhavani Colony in Rajendranagar area of Greater Hyderabad.

Neighbours, relatives and people from all walks of life converged at the slain major's residence and paid homage to him. Ministers Dr G Chinna Reddy and Ms P Sabitha Indra Reddy laid wreaths on the major's body.

The last rites were performed at Amberpet crematorium with full military honours and amidst chanting of Vedic hymns.

"Don't let any militant escape," these were the last words of Major Raghuraman when he was air-lifted from the gun-battle spot in North Kashmir after being hit by a bullet in the chest.

This was recounted by Gaurav Negi, a company officer of the 19-Jat Regiment, as family members and colleagues bid a tearful adieu to the soldier.

"A bullet had hit his chest and the worst thing was that it was embedded inside the body. As he was being airlifted, he showed a thumbs-up sign to Commanding Officer Harjinder and told the officer not to leave anyone," Negi said.

As army men fired in the air thrice and played the bugle, Raghuraman's ex-servicemen-father Krishnamurthy lit the funeral pyre in the presence of Rashtriya Rifles Director General Lt Gen K P D Samanta and other officers.

Raghuraman's wife Lata, who works with TCS, his soldier-sister Aparna and father-in-law Sivaprakash were also present.

Image: Major K P Vinay's body being taken to Amberpet crematorium on Friday.
Photograph: SnapsIndia

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Tearful adieu for slain Major

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