Army accuses Pak of direct role in proxy war in Kashmir

July 26, 2016

Drass (Kargil), Jul 26: Asserting that Pakistan has "direct role" in fuelling terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, Army today warned of more infiltration bids along the LoC in the coming weeks in view of the volatile situation in the Valley.

kargil

"Pakistan is interfering in Kashmir and has direct role in what we call as proxy war in Kashmir and there is absolutely no doubt in it," General Officer Commanding in Chief (GoC-in-C), Northern Command, Lt Gen D S Hooda told reporters here.

He was paying homage to the martyrs of Operation Vijay on the 17th Kargil Vijay Diwas at the historic War Memorial here.

"We have seen it everywhere.. along the borders. We have seen it in the matter in which the support is given to infiltrating groups.

"We have seen how ceasefire violations have been used as a support to the people infiltrating into this side," Hooda said while replying to a question about Pakistan's role in current unrest and terrorism in Kashmir.

"In short, if there is an internal disturbance here, they will directly take advantage of it.

"You have heard the statements of Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Toiba, trying to say that they are supporting whatever is happening in Kashmir," the Northern Command Chief said.

He said "the support (from Pakistan) is not only moral but it is absolute physical and there is no doubt about it".

He also expressed concern over the increasing radicalisation of youth in Kashmir Valley.

"We have seen there is an increase in radicalisation mostly driven by social media and people are quite active on it," Hooda said, adding everyone at all levels has to put their heads together to reduce this trend.

The Army official warned of more infiltration bids in the coming weeks along the LoC.

Hooda said, "We are seeing regular attempts to infiltrate groups into this side."

"We have foiled some infiltration bids. One group which had infiltrated two or three days back and we have neutralised four terrorists inside the hinterland. We are seeing repeated attempts. We recently lost two soldiers during this infiltration bids.

"I don't see a slow down in this (level of infiltration). During this internal disturbance they will try and push in more and more infiltrators and we are well prepared to deal with it," he said.

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News Network
December 20,2025

train.jpg

At least seven elephants were killed and one calf injured after a herd collided with the Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express in Assam's Hojai on Saturday morning, leading to disruption of rail services. 

The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express struck a herd of elephants, resulting in the derailment of the locomotive and five coaches. No passenger casualties or injuries were reported, officials said.

The New Delhi-bound train met with the accident around 2.17 am, PTI reported. The Sairang-New Delhi Rajdhani Express connects Mizoram's Sairang (near Aizawl) to Anand Vihar Terminal (Delhi). 

Railway has issued helpline numbers at the Guwahati Railway Station:-

•    0361-2731621
•    0361-2731622
•    0361-2731623

The accident site is located about 126 km from Guwahati. Following the incident, accident relief trains and railway officials rushed to the spot to initiate rescue operations.

Train Services Disrupted

Sources said that due to the derailment and elephant body parts scattered on the tracks, train services to Upper Assam and other parts of the Northeast were affected.

Passengers from the affected coaches were temporarily accommodated in vacant berths available in other coaches of the train. Once the train reaches Guwahati, additional coaches will be attached to accommodate all passengers, after which the train will resume its onward journey.

The incident occurred at a location that is not a designated elephant corridor. The loco pilot, upon spotting the herd on the tracks, applied emergency brakes. Despite this, the elephants dashed into the train, leading to the collision and derailment.

Last month, an elephant was killed after being hit by a train in Dhupguri in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district. The incident took place on November 30. 

The adult elephant was killed on the spot, and a calf was discovered lying injured beside the tracks. 

Over 70 Elephants Killed In Train Collisions Over Last 5 Years

At least 79 elephants have died in train collisions across the country in the last five years, the Environment Ministry had informed Parliament in August.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Environment Kirti Vardhan Singh had said the figure is based on reports from state governments and Union Territory administrations for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25.

He said that the ministry does not maintain consolidated data on the deaths of other wild animals on railway tracks, including in designated elephant corridors.

Singh confirmed that three elephants, including a mother and her calf, were killed on July 18 this year after being hit by a speeding express train on the Kharagpur-Tatanagar section in West Bengal's Paschim Midnapore district. The incident took place near Banstala between Jhargram and Banstala stations.

The minister said several measures have been taken jointly by the Environment Ministry and the Railways to prevent such accidents.

These include imposing speed restrictions in elephant habitats, pilot projects such as seismic sensor-based detection of elephants near tracks and construction of underpasses, ramps and fencing at vulnerable points.

The Wildlife Institute of India, in consultation with the ministry and other stakeholders, has also issued guidelines titled 'Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure' to help agencies design railways and other projects in ways that reduce human-animal conflicts.

Singh added that capacity-building workshops were conducted for railway officials at the Wildlife Institute of India in 2023 and 2024 to raise awareness on elephant conservation and protection.

A detailed report titled 'Suggested Measures to Mitigate Elephant & Other Wildlife Train Collisions on Vulnerable Railway Stretches in India' had also been prepared after surveys across 127 railway stretches covering 3,452 km.

Of these, 77 stretches spanning 1,965 km in 14 states were prioritised for mitigation, with site-specific interventions suggested. 

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