ErinChamberlin3 at 02:36, 30 April 2026

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{{Short description|Militant attack in Kashmir, February 2000}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2024}}

The '''beheading of Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar''' by a group of militants led by [[Ilyas Kashmiri]] of [[Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami]] occurred in the [[Rajouri district]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]] on 27 February 2000.

Talekar was an [[Indian army]] personnel on guard duty at the Ashok Listening Post.

All seven soldiers on duty from the [[Maratha Light Infantry|17 Maratha Light Infantry]] battalion were killed by the militants. Talekar was [[beheaded]], and his head was carried across the [[Line of Control]] to [[Pakistan]].

==Early years==
Talekar was a resident of [[Kolgaon, Maharashtra|Kolgaon]] village in [[Ahmednagar district]], [[Maharashtra]], [[India]]. He was the son of daily laborers and had studied till the tenth grade before joining the army. He was unmarried and 24 years old at the time of his killing. According to natives of his village, his family did not know that he was beheaded. The army declined Talekar's sister's request to see his face.<ref name="TIE0902"/> His last rites were performed at his village.<ref name="TIE0902"/><ref name="TIE09"/>

==Attack==
In the early hours of 27 February 2000, the Ashok Listening Post, an [[Indian army]] [[Border outpost|guard post]], situated on the [[Line of control]] came under ambush attack, led by [[Ilyas Kashmiri]] and twenty-five [[HuJI]] militants.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Manu Pubby|title=24-yr-old sepoy was beheaded in 2000 LoC raid - Indian Express|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/24yrold-sepoy-was-beheaded-in-2000-loc-raid/520047/2|access-date=13 October 2016|work=Indian Express|date=22 September 2009}}</ref>

The Ashok Listening Post was located in [[Nowshera, Jammu and Kashmir|Nowshehra]] sector in the [[Rajouri district]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (state)|Jammu and Kashmir]], [[India]].<ref name="ToI02">{{cite news|last1=Joseph|first1=Josy|title=Col faced CoI after Ilyas Kashmiri attack|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Col-faced-CoI-after-Ilyas-Kashmiri-attack/articleshow/8731261.cms|access-date=30 September 2016|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=5 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="TIE0902">{{cite news|last1=Raghavan|first1=Ranjani|title=Dead sepoy's village doesn't know his killer is killed in Pakistan|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/dead-sepoys-village-doesnt-know-his-killer-is-killed-in-pakistan/520455/0|access-date=30 September 2016|publisher=[[The Indian Express]]|date=23 September 2009}}</ref> The attack was covered by heavy [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] and [[rocket]] barrage from [[Pakistan army]] positions, which were dressed in black uniform and reported to be from [[Special Services Group]].<ref name="TOI01">{{cite news|last1=Joseph|first1=Josy|title=Pak cross-LoC raid: Brutality similar to 2000 strike by Ilyas Kashmiri|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pak-cross-LoC-raid-Brutality-similar-to-2000-strike-by-Ilyas-Kashmiri/articleshow/17961775.cms|access-date=30 September 2016|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=10 January 2013}}</ref>

The Indian post was surrounded on all three sides by the Pakistani posts and was said to be an unfavorable position.<ref name="ToI02"/>

Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar was on guard duty, and other seven soldiers of the 17 Maratha Light Infantry were in the post at the time of attack. Ilyas Kashmiri slit Talekar's throat and thereafter the other militants accompanying him opened fire inside the bunker in which all seven army men were killed.<ref>{{cite news|author1=Manu Pubby|title=24-yr-old sepoy was beheaded in 2000 LoC raid - Indian Express|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/24yrold-sepoy-was-beheaded-in-2000-loc-raid/520047/|access-date=12 October 2016|work=Indian Express|date=22 September 2009}}</ref>

The head of Talekar was taken across the Line of Control in Pakistan by the militants<ref name="TIE09">{{cite news|last1=Pubby|first1=Manu|title=24-yr-old sepoy was beheaded in 2000 LoC raid|url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/24yrold-sepoy-was-beheaded-in-2000-loc-raid/520047/|access-date=30 September 2016|publisher=[[The Indian Express]]|date=22 September 2009}}</ref> and was brandished as a trophy before the public, who cheered.<ref name="TMOAT">{{cite book|last1=Sørensen|first1=Kaare|title=The Mind of a Terrorist: The Strange Case of David Headley|date=9 June 2016|publisher=[[Penguin Books|Penguin]]|location=UK|isbn=978-9386057310|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4csyDAAAQBAJ&q=Maruti+Talekar|access-date=6 October 2016}}</ref><ref name="ToI03">{{cite news|last1=Pandit|first1=Rajat|last2=Joseph|first2=Josy|title=Pak troops kill two jawans, behead, mutilate one of them|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Pak-troops-kill-two-jawans-behead-mutilate-one-of-them/articleshow/17945868.cms|access-date=1 October 2016|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=9 January 2013}}</ref> According to [[Indian Army]], Talekar was the first casualty of the attack.<ref name="TIE09"/> A captured militant revealed that they had played football with the head of Talekar.<ref name="IT01">{{cite news|last1=Unnithan|first1=Sandeep|title=Pakistani Barbarism At The Border|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/nation/story/20130121-conflict-around-pakistan-india-line-of-control-border-jawans-mutilation-761404-1999-11-29|access-date=6 October 2016|publisher=[[India Today]]|date=11 January 2013}}</ref>

Pakistan denied that its soldiers were involved in the incident.<ref name="TTA01">{{cite web|last1=K|first1=M|last2=Danfes|title=Pak Brutality, It's In Blood|url=http://www.dayafterindia.com/magz_detail_news.php?id=2047|website=The Day After|access-date=6 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009115408/http://www.dayafterindia.com/magz_detail_news.php?id=2047|archive-date=9 October 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
The [[President of Pakistan]] Gen. [[Pervez Musharraf]] honored Ilyas Kashmiri in a ceremony and rewarded him with one-lakh [[Pakistani rupees]], in cash for bringing the head of an Indian army personnel.<ref name="TIE0902"/><ref name="Da02">{{cite news|last1=Khan|first1=Zaigham|title=Death of a quintessential Jihadi|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/634784/death-of-a-quintessential-jihadi|access-date=4 October 2016|publisher=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|date=7 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="ZN01">{{cite news|last1=Arora|first1=Kamna|title=Ilyas Kashmiri still alive inside Pakistani troops|url=http://zeenews.india.com/blog/ilyas-kashmiri-still-alive-inside-pakistani-troops_5974.html|access-date=1 October 2016|publisher=Zee News|date=11 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="N1801">{{cite news|last1=Bhattacharya|first1=Tathagata|title=Who is Illyas Kashmiri?|url=http://www.news18.com/news/india/who-is-illyas-kashmiri-373303.html|access-date=6 October 2016|publisher=News18.com|date=4 June 2011}}</ref>

Ilyas Kashmiri, was killed in an alleged US drone attack in 2011.<ref name="TIE0902"/>

===The inquiry against the commanding officer===
The commanding officer of the unit was [[Colonel]] Sandes. He had communicated to the superiors seeking permission to shift the Ashok listening post because of the possibility of a sneaking attack such as the one which happened on 27 February 2000, but he was denied permission. He faced a court of inquiry after the incident which exonerated him, but his superiors had reported that Colonel Sandes was unfit for commanding a unit. The colonel had to fight a legal battle to be eligible for promotion. Sandes was promoted to the rank of [[Brigadier]] in 2010.<ref name="ToI02"/>

===Talekar's memory===
The army took up the responsibility of the education of his sister after the incident. His family continues to receive a [[pension]] of {{INR}}10,000 per month. A sum of [[Indian rupee sign|₹]]12 [[lakh]] was given to Talekar's family as compensation.<ref name="TIE0902"/>

In his memory, a community hall was built in his village. His sister is pursuing{{when|date=October 2016}} the hope to start a school for special children in his memory.<ref name="TIE0902"/>

===Similar incidents===
During the [[Kargil War]], Captain [[Saurabh Kalia]] of the Indian Army was captured by the Pakistani soldiers and later his dead body was handed back. Indian security officials allege that [[Saurabh Kalia]]'s dead body was badly mutilated when they received it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/world/asia/kashmir-jammu-india-pakistan-beheadings.html|title=Beheadings and Vengeance: A Cycle of Killing on a Border in Kashmir|date=15 May 2017|work=New York Times}}</ref> In one decade before 2013, when [[Lance Naik Hemraj]] was beheaded, there have been at least three other such instances of decapitation of Indian soldiers by the Pakistani troops.<ref name="TH02">{{cite news|last1=Josephy|first1=Josy|title=Back in the day, cross-LoC hit and run was a given|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/back-in-the-day-crossloc-hit-and-run-was-a-given/article9174532.ece|access-date=3 October 2016|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=1 October 2013}}</ref>

According to [[List of newspapers in India|Indian newspaper]], ''[[The Hindu]]'', cross-border raids had almost ceased after 2003. However, they resumed again in 2007 and 2008.<ref name="TH02"/> In 2017, India alleged that two of its soldiers were beheaded by [[Pakistani Border Action Team]] (BAT). According to Indian officials, the Border Action Team had crossed {{convert|250|m}} deep into Indian territory to ambush Indian Army patrol party.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.livemint.com/Politics/oturqz0uQmDBKDs7pjG3oM/Slain-Indian-soldiers-might-have-fallen-into-a-death-trap-se.html|title=Slain Indian soldiers might have fallen into a death trap set up by Pakistani BATs|work=Live Mint|date=1 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/fallen-indian-soldiers-might-have-walked-into-death-trap/articleshow/58463458.cms|title=Fallen Indian soldiers might have walked into death trap|date=12 July 2018|work=Economic Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.rediff.com/news/report/how-pakistan-crossed-the-loc-and-beheaded-2-soldiers/20170501.htm|title=How Pakistan crossed the LoC and beheaded 2 soldiers|date=1 May 2017|work=Rediff News}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Saurabh Kalia]]
*[[List of punitive expeditions across the LOC]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talekar, Bhausaheb Maruti}}
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in India in 2000]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:India–Pakistan relations]]
[[Category:2000 murders in India]]
[[Category:Deaths by decapitation]]
[[Category:Deaths by person in India]]
[[Category:Rajouri district]]
[[Category:2000s in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Necroviolence]]
[[Category:Pakistan military scandals]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents attributed to Pakistani jihadist groups]]

Beheading of Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar - Revision history

ErinChamberlin3 at 02:36, 30 April 2026