The Indian Army has shifted out the commander of the Uri brigade, unnamed defence officials told PTI on Saturday. According to ANI, the brigadier will be shifted out of the base till the investigation into the strike is completed.
Brigadier K Somashanker, who was in charge during the militant attack on the Uri base on September 18, has been moved to the Northern Command in Udhampur. He will be replaced by an officer from the Army's 28 Mountain Division till the investigation is completed, according to NDTV. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had admitted that security lapses had led to the incident in North Kashmir's Baramulla district.
The move comes at a time when Indian Army chief General Dalbir Singh arrived at the Northern Command in Udhampur to check India's military preparedness in the wake of heightened security tensions along the Line of Control with Pakistan. A defence official said Singh chaired a high-level meeting "to review the situation and operational preparedness in Jammu and Kashmir, including along the LoC", PTI reported.
The toll in the strike on the Army's Uri base rose to 19 on Friday as Indian Army soldier Naik Rajkishor Singh succumbed to his injuries. He had been undergoing treatment at the Army's Research and Referral Hospital. A Border Security Force jawan, Pitabas Majhi, who was was injured in the combing operations that followed the militant strike, died on September 24.
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