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EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, JUNE 14: The Army followed its success yesterday in capturing Tuloling by evicting Pakistan Army troops from the crucial Point 4590 feature as well as positions to its north in the Drass sub-sector. This action of the Rajputana Rifles and the Grenadiers battalions spread much cheer through military circles. The operation has cleared an immediate threat to the vital Srinagar-Leh highway.
However, the success came with heavy price as the casualties included Major Vivek Gupta of the Rajputana Rifles, two Junior Commissioned Officers and four other ranks. The Army has also recovered the body of Major R S Adhikari, who was killed in the battle for the capture of Tololing on May 29.
Even as the number of Pakistani casualties is being tallied, the Army has seized a huge quantity of weapons and other war equipment. These include eight machine guns, three rocket launchers, one automatic grenade launcher and 61 mm and 51 mm mortars. The battle site also had 13 Type 56 rifles, 24 mines and 45 boxes ofammunition. A passive night-vision device, three gas masks, eleven bullet proof jackets, and a Pay Book of Sepoy Ghulam Haider of the 6 Northern Light Infantry of the Pakistan Army were among the other items recovered.
While soldiers of the Rajputana Rifles recaptured Point 4590 from the Pakistan Army, keeping up the momentum of the battle, the neighbouring Grenadiers battalion moved further north of this feature, evicting more intruders. Moving up along ``an extremely difficult approach, the enemy was completely surprised which resulted in a fierce hand to hand to fight'', said an Army official.
IAF jets also carried out sorties to areas where intruders are holed up, to aid operations by ground troops. Heavy fighting was going on in Batalik sub-sector of Kargil to push back intruders across the Line of Control to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, the sources said.
They said the army was trying to cut off the supply lines of the intruders in this sub-sector before launching a final onslaught on the enemypositions.
The Pakistan Army, meanwhile, opened up its artillery gun positions across the entire Kargil sector, and its mortar positions along the Kanzalwan, Punch, Krishnaghati, Bhimbergalli and Naushera sectors. ``We have responded in a fitting manner'', said the Army official.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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