Soldier forgets his sehri, helps battalion in saving lives

Bandipora, Kashmir: Commandant Iqbal Ahmad woke up to have sehri on Monday when he heard his wireless making some noise. He was told about a suicide attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp in the Bandipora area of North Kashmir.

Forgetting his pre-dawn meal, Iqbal picked up his assault rifle and rushed to the nearby camp where four terrorists, believed to be members of the banned Lashkar-e- Taiba (LeT), were carrying out the attack.

As per a report by HT, the counter attack was commanded by him when his predecessor Chetan Cheeta got injured. Iqbal was 200-300 metres away from the 45th CRPF battalion in Sumbal when the wireless message informed him of the attack in the camp that houses two companies of his men.

The fasting officer rushed to the troubled spot and stayed there till all the terrorists had been killed and the area cleared.

At the Sumbal camp, it was two street dogs who gave the first tip off to the CRPF personnel with their loud barks. The dogs, who are fed regularly by the CRPF personnel, continued to bark, giving the personnel an idea that there were people hiding in a particular area. “The dogs saved the lives of many,” said a senior CRPF official.