The family of a soldier killed during the Kulgam anti-terror operations has claimed that he had to starve for five days after being encircled by terrorists, an allegation that several veterans dismissed as implausible.

The operation to flush out militants from Kulgam’s dense forests entered its eleventh day on Monday. Two soldiers have been killed and 10 injured so far. A suspected militant has also been killed in the gunfight. “The operation has not been called off. There has, however, been no firing in the area for the past two days,” an official said.

The family of Harminder Singh, one of the two soldiers from Punjab killed in the gunfight, claimed in a video that the militants had encircled the two jawans who were deprived of food and water for five days and forced to eat dirt to survive before being killed. The family said Harminder had spoken to them a day before he was killed.

A relative, who identified himself as Harminder’s uncle, slammed the government for making “tall claims” but doing nothing to ensure that the soldiers get food. The video was shared by journalist Sandeep Singh on X, triggering reactions from several veterans.

“Proud of the sacrifice of the soldiers & having operated in those jungles myself, have full faith that their sacrifice will pave the way for the success of the mission,” KJS Dhillon, who served as Chinar Corps or 15 Corps chief during the 2019 scrapping of special status, posted. “As regards food, there can be a delay at times due to operational reasons but never a no supply for days,” he added.

Former Major General Rajan Kochhar said it was “unlikely that Harminder or any soldier of the Indian Army goes without food during operations”. “All troops are self-contained for rations, which they carry with them for any combat operations,” he said.