Beheading of Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar

The beheading of Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar by Pakistani soldiers and over two-dozen HuJI terrorists led by Ilyas Kashmiri happened in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, India on 27 February 2000. Talekar was an Indian soldier on guard duty at the Ashok Listening Post which is surrounded on three sides by Pakistani posts. His post was attacked under the cover of mortar and rocket fire from Pakistani troops in which all seven soldiers on duty from the 17 Maratha Light Infantry battalion were killed. Talekar was beheaded and his severed head was carried across the line of control by terrorists.

Pakistani media published the photographs of Ilyas Kashmiri carrying the severed head of Talekar. The involved Pakistani soldiers were said to be from the Special Services Group (SSG). A section of the Indian establishment believe that Ilyas Kashmiri was a member of the SSG during the attack. Pakistan denied that their soldiers were involved in the incident. It is reported that Kashmiri was honored by the then president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf for bringing the head of an Indian soldier.

After the beheading of Talekar, allegations of other incidents of beheading by both countries have frequently been reported.

Talekar was a resident of Kolgaon village in Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. He was the son of daily laborers and had studied till the 10th grade before joining the army. He was unmarried and 24 years old at the time of his death. According to natives of his village, the family of Talekar did not knew that he was beheaded. The army declined the Talekar's sister request to see his face. His last rites were performed at his village.

In the early hours of 27 February 2000, a guerilla attack led by Ilyas Kashmiri and twenty-fiveHuJI terrorists was launched at the Ashok Lightening Post, Nowshehra sector in the Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The attack was covered by heavy mortar and rocket fire from Pakistani soldiers, which were dressed in black uniform and reported to be from Special Services Group. The Indian post is surrounded on all three sides by the Pakistani posts and is said to be a unfavorable position. Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar was on guard duty, and other seven soldiers of the 17 Maratha Light Infantry were in the bunker at the time of incident. Ilyas Kashmiri slit Talekar's throat and thereafter other terrorists accompanying him opened fire inside bunker in which all seven soldiers were killed.

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Wikipedia