A 25-year-old Indian Army jawan, M. Murali Naik, was killed in the early hours of Friday, following a fresh wave of cross-border shelling from Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu Kashmir.
Naik, a gunner with the 1851 Light Regiment, was critically injured while defending his post amid intense firing and succumbed to his injuries during evacuation.
His death follows closely on the heels of Lance Naik Dinesh Kumar’s killing earlier this week in similar hostilities.
Naik hailed from Gorantla Mandal in Andhra Pradesh’s Sri Sathya Sai district and was the only son of Mudavath Sriram and Jyothibai, both daily-wage labourers.
A first-generation soldier in his family, Naik had joined the Indian Army in December 2022, fulfilling his lifelong dream.
His family, originally working in Mumbai’s construction sector, had returned home after his recruitment. The jawan’s last visit home was on January 6.
His cousin, Ranjit Naik, recounted that Murali had spoken to them last on May 6 and again the night before the attack.
“He sounded tense, more worried than usual,” Ranjit said. “But he stayed brave till the end.”
The shelling reportedly occurred across multiple LoC sectors, including Kupwara, Uri, Baramulla, and Akhnoor, according to the Ministry of Defence. Poonch district, in particular, has witnessed the heaviest bombardment, with at least 16 civilians killed and 59 others injured over the past few days. The Indian Army has retaliated by targeting Pakistani positions responsible for the aggression.
This recent escalation comes just days after Indian precision airstrikes targeted nine terror camps operating in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), said to be housing militants from Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba. These strikes were conducted in retaliation to the 22 April terror attack in Pahalgam that killed 26 Indian tourists, marking one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in recent years.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Governor S. Abdul Nazeer confirmed Naik’s death and expressed their condolences on X, formerly Twitter. “The nation will forever honour his sacrifice,” the CM said. Former Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy also extended his sympathies. Naik’s mortal remains are expected to arrive in his hometown on May 10 for final rites.
Murali, an alumnus of Vigyan High School in Somandepalli, was described by his father as “cheerful, committed, and deeply proud” of wearing the Army uniform.
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
- News Deskhttps://thekashmiriyat.co.uk/author/kashmiriyat/
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