Four Karnataka soldiers martyred in J&K Army vehicle accident
Belagavi: Tragedy struck as soldiers from Karnataka were killed in a military vehicle accident in Jammu and Kashmir. On Tuesday, five soldiers lost their lives and five others sustained serious injuries when their vehicle overturned into a ditch near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Balnoie area of Mendhar, Poonch district.
The deceased have been identified as Mahesh Marigond (25) from Mahalningpur in the Raba-kavi-Banahatti taluk of Bagalkote, Dayanand Tirakannavar (44) from Pantnagar in Belagavi, and Anup(38) from Kundapur. Mahesh Marigond was serving in the 11th Maratha Regiment. Reports indicate that the soldiers’ vehicle was en route to Mendhar for duty at the time of the accident.
Dayanand Kallappa Tirakannavar was serving as a Subedar in the Indian Army’s 11th Maratha Light Infantry. Having dedicated 25 years of service, he was set to retire in just two more years.
The Chief Minister expressed his sorrow over the incident on X (formerly Twitter),stating, “It is heartbreaking to hear about the sacrifice of Kannada soldiers Dayanand Tirakannavar, Anup, and Mahesh Marigond, who were martyred in a military vehicle accident near Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir. I pray for eternal peace for the souls of the deceased soldiers and strength for their families to bear this loss. The sacrifice and valor of these martyrs who laid down their lives for the service of the nation will always be remembered.”
In a separate incident, Dharmaraj Khot (43) from Kuppanawadi village in Chikkodi taluk was killed when a military vehicle overturned in Imphal district, Manipur.
This accident occurred as he was returning from duty, and he was also just 2-3 months away from retirement.
The mili-tary vehicle was carrying a total of six soldiers, of whom two lost their lives.
The family of Dharmaraj is in deep mourning as senior army officials paid their final respects, and his mortal remains were flown to Goa for last rites in Kuppanawadi, which are scheduled for tomorrow.