The martyrdom of 44 CRPF soldiers in Pulwama had boiled the blood of all Indians and we all are in deep sorrow for the loss of so many lives in a cowardly attack.

PTI

But amid much talks over Pulwama and the events that followed including the IAF strike deep in Pakistan on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) camp and the small air skirmish between IAF and PAF and of course the capture and return of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, a lot has happened.

The forces whether it’s army, CRPF, the J&K police, or the IAF, roughly 20 people have been martyred in various encounters and accidents, but amid the high pitched politics and hysteria over Pulwama and events that followed, not much attention has been paid neither by the media nor by the government on the soldiers who sacrificed their lives after the Pulwama attack.

Here are the encounters and accidents in which these soldiers lost their lives:

1. Five army soldiers including a Major killed On February 18

Days after the nation mourned the loss of gallant CRPF soldiers, five army soldiers including a Major were martyred during an encounter against the terrorists in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

Nikita wife of Major Dhoundiyal bade him farewell, ANI

#ArmyCdrNC and all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of our brave officer and soldiers & offer deepest condolences to the families. @adgpi @PIB_India @SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/qo8TzBJF89 — NorthernComd.IA (@NorthernComd_IA) February 18, 2019

The martyred soldiers were from 55 Rashtriya Rifles. Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal, 34, Sepoy Hari Singh, 27, Havaldar Sheo Ram, 37, and Sepoy Ajay Kumar, 27 were from army and head constable Abdul Rashid was from the J&K Police. Read More

2. Major killed while defusing IED, was to get married on March 7

General Bipin Rawat #COAS & all ranks salute supreme sacrifice of Major Chitresh Singh Bisht & offer sincere condolences to the family. #BraveSonsOfIndia pic.twitter.com/UJcR4spd0D — ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) February 16, 2019

On February 17, Army Major Chitresh Singh Bisht was martyred during the process of defusing a land mine near LoC in Rajouri district in J&K. He was to get married on March 7. Read More

3. A DSP and an army man martyred during an encounter in Kulgam

On February 25, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Aman Kumar Thakur and an army man Havaldar Sombir were martyred in an encounter in Turigam in Kulgam district. The locals pelted stones at security forces and interrupted in the operation.

We pay rich #tributes to our colleague #Martyr #DySP Aman Kumar for his supreme sacrifice made in the line of #duty today at @Kulgam. We stand by his family at this crucial moment. RIP. @JmuKmrPolice @policekulgam pic.twitter.com/vgEKkgp6mm — Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) February 24, 2019

DSP Aman Kumar Thakur was a 2011-batch officer from the Jammu and Kashmir Police Services and had been posted in Kulgam for the last two years. He had been spearheading the counter-terrorism wing of the state police in the district. Read More

4. 5 CRPF soldiers killed in Handwara

An encounter that began on March 1 and went on for 54 hours in Handwara in North Kashmir, five policemen including three of CRPF and two of state police were martyred. Two terrorists were also killed in the encounter.

PTI

CRPF salutes the supreme sacrifice of Insp/GD Pintu Kumar Singh and CT/GD Vinod Kumar who attained martyrdom in encounter in Kupwara, J&K on 01/03/2019. pic.twitter.com/IApbKRnTYJ — 🇮🇳CRPF🇮🇳 (@crpfindia) March 2, 2019

Naseer Ahmad Kholi and Ghulam Mustafa Barah were the martyred policemen whereas CRPF lost Inspector Pintu Kumar Singh and Constable Vinod in the counter. Another CRPF Jawan succumbed to the injuries in hospital. A civilian Waseem Ahmad Mir also lost his life in the encounter. Read More

5. MI17 crash, six IAF officer and a civilian died

Squadron Leader Aarti Singh, wife of the martyred 31-year-old Squadron Leader Sidhartha Vashisht bade him farewell in uniform. (Image: Twitter)

On February 27, when the air skirmishes between India and Pakistan were on, an MI17 helicopter crashed in Budgam area in J&K. Six officers of the IAF and one civilian died in the accident which raised speculation whether it was also hit by Pakistan jets. But later IAF clarified that it was an accident. PAF also said that it was an accident.