Rich tributes were paid to Major Pramod Purushottam, the officer who was instrumental in changing the image of army among the people of Kashmir at the height of militancy till the Kargil conflict, on his 18th death anniversary today.
Major Purushottam and his entire team at the army's public relations office were killed on this day in 1999 by Lashker-e-Taiba militants, who had carried out a suicide attack on the strategic Srinagar-based XV corps.
Till date, this has been the only terror attack on the Badami Bagh cantonment here.
Maj Purushottam had arrived in the Kashmir Valley at a time when militancy was at its peak and misinformation against the army, engaged in counter-insurgency operations, was spreading like a jungle fire, courtesy militant sympathisers.
Wreaths were laid today at the Major Purshottam memorial inside the Badami Bagh cantonment headquarters of the Army here.
"In a solemn and poignant ceremony held at the Badami Bagh cantonment, all ranks of the Public Relations Office paid rich tributes to Major P Purushottam and five soldiers who were killed in a fidayeen (suicide) attack on this day in 1999," a defence spokesman said.
Major Purushottam, who was posted as a Public Relations Officer (Defence) along with five of his comrades, fought the militants who had launched the attack on his office on November 3 and saved three mediapersons, the spokesman said.
"Having been engaged in a hand-to-hand fight with the terrorists, he and his colleagues were killed while trying to save media persons who were present in the PRO office at the time of the attack," he said.
Major Purushottam was with three photojournalists
Sheikh Tariq, Fayaz Ahmed and Habib Naqash when the militants had stormed his office after a blast outside the main gate of the cantonment.
As gunshots rang one after the other, Purushottam, without caring for his own safety, pushed the journalists and a personnel from his unit into the washroom attached to his office.
Firing indiscriminately, the marauders entered the Major's room and, when they had left, Pramod Purushottam and five members of his staff lay dead. All three journalists cheated death, thanks to the quick-thinking by Purushottam.
Retired Corps Commander Lt Gen Subrata Saha, who had instituted a trophy in Purtushottam's name, recalled that during his posting in the Valley, he had found the officer being fondly remembered by the people across the board.
"Every Defence PRO who joined thereafter used to be compared to Maj Purushottam as he was remembered for his compassionate and gentle behaviour," Gen Saha, who rose to become Deputy Chief of the Indian Army before hanging in his boots in March this year, said.
He said that during his stint, he had found that the brave officer, who was the face of the Army during the Kargil conflict, was instrumental in improving the image of the force during those difficult days when the army was facing false charges of human rights abuses in the Valley.
"He definitely was the true army officer who sacrificed his life for civilians," he said.
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