BELAGAVI, 26 DEC

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday paid tributes to three soldiers from Karnataka, who were killed in an accident in Jammu and Kashmir on 24 December.

The deceased – Kundapura's Anoop Pujari, 33, Mahesh Nagappa Marigond, 25, from Bagalkote and Dayanand Thirakannavar, 44, from Belagavi – were among five soldiers killed after their vehicle plunged into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district. They were from the 11 Maratha Light Infantry.

Their bodies were flown to Belagavi on Thursday where they were given military honour at the Maratha Light Infantry Regimental Centre (MLIRC).

Brigadier Joydeep Mukharjee and other top rank military officials the chief minister to the ceremony.
He laid a wreath on the mortal remains of the soldiers and offered his tribute. The CM said he was "deeply pained" to learn about the deaths of the soldiers.