Once in a while, something or the other serves as a reminder that while we sit comfortably in our homes, there are thousands of men and women who work day in and day out to keep our borders impenetrable. As we sleep peacefully at night, these brave heroes spend months away from their families to ensure we’re all safe from enemy attacks.
And sometimes this includes having to go across the border into enemy territory. One such occasion was in 2016 when the Indian Army had to conduct surgical strikes 15km into Pakistan territory.
On Tuesday, former Nagrota Corps commander Lt Gen Rajendra Nimborkar spoke about the operation in which the Indian Army Troops destroyed 3 pads and killed 29 terrorists.
Speaking to the Times Of India, Nimborkar says:
“While in the sector, we had experienced that leopards often attack dogs in the areas. To save themselves from the attack, dogs prefer to stay in the locality during the night.”
During the planning process, the Army decided to make use of this piece of information to their advantage. The former commander explains it as such:
“While devising the operational strategy, we were aware of possible dogs barking and attacking while crossing villages on the route. To counter it, our troops carried leopards’ urine and faeces. They used to spray it outside the village. This worked well and the dogs left them alone.
Then defence minister Manohar Parrikar had told us to execute the operation in a week. I had discussed this with our troops a week in advance but didn’t reveal the exact location. They came to know about it a day prior to the attack.”
Nimborkar was awarded for his contribution to the strikes by the city-based Thorle Bajirao Peshwe Pratishthan.
Elaborating on the strike, the Lt General says:
“We had identified the terrorists’ launch pads. We had studied their timings and got to know that 3.30am was perfect to attack. Before that, our troops had to reach a safe location. They had successfully crossed difficult terrains and minefields. They destroyed three pads and killed 29 terrorists.”
The operation which took place in September 2016, is said to have been in retaliation to a militant attack on the army at Uri on the 18th of that month, which left 19 soldiers dead. Nimborkar adds that post-operation, the Pakistan Army’s military leaders had been left stunned.
Leopard urine. Who knew, right? You can’t help but marvel at the masterminds behind the scenes here.