Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat visits Siachen Glacier

In his first visit to Siachen, Leh and the Valley since taking charge, Bipin Rawat paid his respects to the soldiers killed in action at the Siachen war memorial. He was accompanied by Northern Army Commander Lieutenant and also he  paid “tributes to the martyrs by laying a wreath” and later interacted with troops.

“Thereafter, the Army Chief moved to Leh where he was briefed on the overall security situation and operational preparedness by the Corps Commander. During his interaction, he appreciated the commitment, dedication, sacrifice and professionalism of all officers and men posted to the region and called up on them to continue to uphold the core values of the Indian Army,” Defense Spokesman said.

Rawat also visited Srinagar, Kashmir’s summer capital, where he was briefed about the prevailing security scenario in  Kashmir. Rawat was informed about the measures placed to integrate all government agencies for efficient intelligence generation and successful conduct of operations.

General Rawat earlier served in Kashmir in various capacities including commanding the Dagger Division in 2011–2012 and an RR Sector in Sopore - Bandipora in 2006-2007.

While this was Rawat’s first visit to the Valley as army chief, he did visit the state earlier this month, taking a tour of the Udhampur-based Northern Command in Jammu province.

(Reporting by Salem Iqbal Qadri, Image: Indian Army Twitter page)