Body of Capt R Harshan being flown to Kerala

New Delhi, Mar 21 (UNI) The body of Captain Harshan R of the 2 Para (Special Forces), who died yesterday while combating terrorists in the Lolab area of Northern Jammu&Kashmir, is being flown to Thiruvananthapuram en route to his hometown Manacaud, it was officially announced here.

On the intervening night of March 19/20, on receipt of specific inputs regarding the presence of a group of hard core terrorists in the Chhoti Margi area of North Kashmir, Captain Harshan rushed to the area with his troops.

In conditions of continuous snowfall in pitch darkness, Capt Harshan established a cordon around the house where the terrorists were hiding by the early hours.

At 0350hrs, the terrorists rushed out firing and virtually came face-to-face with Capt Harshan. Despite being outnumbered and sustaining a gusnshot would Capt Harshan killed one terrorist on the spot.

Without any concern for his own injury, Capt Harshan then shot dead one more terrorist. However, in the process, he sustained a fatal gunshot wound in the neck.

The officer succumbed to his injuries after eliminating two hardcore terrorists. The heroic action by the officer, displaying supreme courage and valour and setting a personal example for his troops, exhorted his troops to continue the gunbatttle and eliminate two more terrorists in the same operation.

Born on April 15, 1980 at Manacaud, near Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala), Capt Harshan R was an alumni of the Sainik School, Kazhakootam, National Defence Academy (Khadakwasala) and Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun.

Capt Harshan R volunteered for the Special Forces and was commissioned into 2 Para (Special Forces) on December 10, 2002. An outstanding officer, Capt Harshan was a skilled diver apart from being an excellent cross-country runner. He excelled in all his courses, and his excellent mountaineering skills helped him do exceedingly well in the High Altitude Warfare Course.

The toughness and tenacity of Capt Harshan was reflected in the operations conducted by the officer as he relentlessly conducted operations in harsh conditions in J&K and achieved major success.

Barely two weeks ago, in a single operation, the officer was single-handlely responsible for eliminating the leadership of Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen (HuM) in Northern Kashmir killing two hardcore terrorist leaders.

UNI