Army Chief visits injured CRPF Commanding Officer

Cheetah had sustained grievous injuries in an encounter with militants in North Kashmir on February 14, following which he was airlifted to AIIMS.

New Delhi, Feb 18: Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday visited injured CRPF Commanding Officer Chetan Kumar Cheetah and enquired about his health at the AIIMS Trauma Centre here.

Cheetah had sustained grievous injuries in an encounter with militants in North Kashmir on February 14, following which he was airlifted to AIIMS, where he is battling for life. General Rawat visited Cheetah in the afternoon and enquired about his health from the doctors attending on him, AIIMS sources said. Yesterday, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju visited the Centre to enquire about the condition of the injured CRPF officer.

Cheetah, the Commanding Officer of CRPF's 45th battalion deployed in Kashmir valley, had received gunshot wounds in his eye, hands, waist and pelvic region and suffered a fracture in the hand, after the encounter with militants in Kashmir on Tuesday, CPRF officials said. His condition remained "critical" after which he was admitted to the premier hospital early this week, they said.

Hailing from Rajasthan, Cheetah bore the initial brunt of the attack in Hajjan where a joint team of army, CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir Police had laid siege to the area following intelligence inputs that two foreign terrorists were hiding there.

PTI