Overview
- Agniveer M. Murali Naik, a 23-year-old soldier from Andhra Pradesh, was killed in cross-border shelling by Pakistani forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri-Poonch sector on May 9, 2025.
- The Andhra Pradesh government has pledged ₹50 lakh ex gratia, five acres of land, a 300-square-yard housing plot, and a government job to support Naik’s family.
- Thousands gathered for Naik’s state-honored funeral in his native village of Kalli Thanda, where Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan and other dignitaries paid their respects.
- Naik, the sole breadwinner for his family, joined the Indian Army in November 2022 under the Agniveer scheme and was serving with the 851 Light Regiment of the Northern Command.
- Ceasefire violations and artillery exchanges continue along the Line of Control, with heightened military alert following India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and PoK.