Wails replace wedding songs at soldeirs’ homes killed in terror-triggered blast

 In a cruel twist of fate, the two brave soldiers who lost their lives on Tuesday when terrorists triggered a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) along the India-Pakistan border in the Akhnoor Sector of Jammu were meant to be celebrating the happiest days of their lives just a few weeks later in April, when their weddings were scheduled.

SNS | Jammu | February 12, 2025 : In an emotional and solemn wreath-laying ceremony, the General Officer Commanding, White Knight Corps of the Indian Army, Lt. General Navin Sachdeva, paid heartfelt homage to the indomitable spirits of Captain Karamjit Singh Bakshi and Naik Mukesh Singh Manhas at the Air Force Station in Jammu on Wednesday. These courageous warriors made the supreme sacrifice on February 11, upholding the highest traditions of the Indian Army.

What was supposed to be a time of love, laughter, and new beginnings has been cruelly replaced by grief and unbearable loss. Their families, once busy with wedding preparations, now find themselves preparing for last rites, their homes echoing with sorrow instead of wedding songs.

Captain Bakshi, from Ranchi in Jharkhand, was engaged to an Army doctor whose parents live in Sainik Colony in Jammu. Their wedding was scheduled for April 18.

The 30-year-old Naik Mukesh, whose parents live in Utterbehani near Jammu, was to marry a girl from the border village of Satrian in Ranbirsinghpura. Mukesh had returned home in January for the engagement ceremony and resumed his duty on January 28.

A day before the tragic incident, he had spoken to his sister about the wedding arrangements, his father said.

The two soldiers were killed in the IED blast by Pakistani terrorists on the afternoon of February 11 while they were patrolling along the barbed-wire fence between the two countries.

A day earlier, an Army soldier was injured in a sniper attack from across the Line of Control (LoC) in the Nowshera Sector of Rajouri district. The Indian Army has lodged a strong protest with the Pakistan Army over such activities from the occupied area of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Army, BSF, and J&K Police have been placed on high alert following these incidents. Surveillance has been increased, with intelligence reports indicating the movement of terrorists along the LoC and international border, under the supervision of Pakistani agencies.