India News | War Memorial of Captain Who Died During Operation Birsa Munda in 1999 Inaugurated

Srinagar, Jul 4 (PTI) The Indian Army on Sunday inaugurated a war memorial dedicated to Captain Gurjinder Singh Suri who lost his life during 'Operation Birsa Munda' along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir in 1999.

The memorial at a forward location in Gulmarg, in north Kashmir's Baramulla, was inaugurated in the presence of Capt Suri's father, Lt Col Tej Prakash Singh Suri (retd), defence spokesperson Col Emron Musavi said in a statement.

July 4 also happens to be Captain Suri's birthday, he added.

"Lt Col Tej Prakash Singh Suri (retd) travelled hundreds of kilometres to a forward location at more than 10,000 feet height along the Line of Control to finally accomplish his dream of visiting the battlefield where his son had made the ultimate sacrifice during Operation Birsa Munda in 1999," Col Musavi said.

'Operation Birsa Munda' was a punitive raid conducted against a Pakistani post by a Bihar battalion of the Indian Army in the month of November 1999, he said.

"This was the time when Operation 'Vijay' had drawn to a close, but the Line of Control was still active with sporadic incidents of trans-LoC violence. In a swift and meticulously planned operation, the entire Pakistani post was destroyed, killing 17 Pakistani soldiers," Musavi added.

Capt Suri was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra, he said.

Three of his team members also made the supreme sacrifice, Musavi added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)