New Delhi, July 14 (HT Correspondent). Body of Lieutenant Amit Bharadwaj, five others recovered. The Indian Army today recovered the mortal remains of six soldiers of 4 jat battalion, including that of Lt Amit Bharadwaj, while re-occupying Bajrang post in the Kaksar sub-sector.

The six soldiers had been missing since May 17. An Indian Army spokesman said the bodies were discovered while searching the positions vacated by the retreating Pakistan Army. Lt Bharadwaj and his men were among the first to encounter the enemy in the Kargil sector. He led the patrol after Captain Saurav Kalia and his men from the same unit went missing in the Kaksar area on May 8 near Bajrang post.

It is understood that the bodies of Lt Bharadwaj and his men could be seen lying in the vicinity of Bajrang post but could not be recovered due to heavy enemy fire. According to the spokesman, the Indian troops were in the process of verifying enemy withdrawal and occupying designated heights closer to the LoC in the Kargil sector. He said in the past 24 hours, enemy continued with intermittent artillery shelling in Dras sector in which one Indian soldier died. The Army spokesman took the opportunity to point out that former Pakistan Army Chief Mirza Aslam Beg has stated that 40 Pakistan Army officers have been killed in Kargil mis-adventure.

Meanwhile, General V P Malik, Chief of Army Staff, has awarded the Chief of Staff Banner to the Ladakh Scouts in acknowledgement of the outstanding valour, sacrifice and patriotism displayed by it during Operation Vijay. The Banner shall be presented to the Ladakh Scouts by Gen Malik at a special ceremony to be held in Leh. Ladakh Scouts have already been awarded the unit citation by the Chief of Army Staff for their exemplary performance, particularly in the Batalik sector.

The IAF today carried out round-the-clock reconnaissance and air defence missions in the Kargil sector. While no evidence of the intruders was noticed, the IAF’s fighters continued to carry out surveillance in the area. Meanwhile, bodies of 11 Army personnel including that of Captain Jintu Gogoi of 17 Garhwal battalion, who laid down their lives fighting the Pakistan Army in Kargil sector, were brought here today. Six of these soldiers belonged to 17 Jat and five to 17 Garhwal.

The soldiers who sacrificed their lives are : Sepoys Vinod Kumar, Rajvir Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Gazpal Singh, Krishan Kumar and Subedar Harphul Singh (of 17 JAT) and Captain Jintu Gogoi, Lance Naiks Madan Singh, Davinder Prasad, Riflemen Jaideep Singh and Varinder Lal (of 17 Garhwal).