Guwahati, Oct 4 (IANS): Indian Army's Gajraj Corps, which was raised in the midst of the India-China War in 1962, on Sunday celebrated its 58th Raising Day at a function at its headquarters in Assam's Tezpur, defence officials said.

At the ceremony, Corps commander, Lt Gen Shantanu Dayal paid homage to those who have made supreme sacrifice. He also complimented all ranks for their dedication and devotion to duty while serving in counter-insurgency operations in Assam as well as being deployed along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh.

Defence spokesman Lt Col Harsh Wardhan Pande said that Gajraj Corps was raised by Lt Gen B.M. Kaul at Tezpur on Oct 4, 1962 and over the years, has played a commendable role in both conventional and counter-insurgency operations in the eastern theatre, especially during the 1971 Bangladesh war

"In the India-Pakistan war in 1971, the Gajraj Corps made the famous advance to Dhaka during the liberation of Bangladesh and also participated in the Meghna Heli Bridge Operations. In fact, that operation had stunned the world's armies. The then Corps Commander, Lt Gen Sagat Singh, had innovatively employed Mi-4 helicopters to cross the Meghna River which was considered impassable and his Corps relentlessly attacked and defeated the Pakistani forces," he said.

Lt Col Pande said that the innovative use of helicopters has remained unparalleled.

"The Corps had proved its mettle and very proficiently carried out its task in the most complex sector in terms of distances from the logistic bases. The Corps was first to enter Dhaka," he added.