The recent faceoff with the Chinese army on the Indian side of LAC or Line of Actual Control initially revealed the death of 3 Indian soldiers, including a Colonel. The Colonel in question is Col. Santosh Babu who was the Commanding officer of the 16 Bihar regiment.
On Tuesday, the number of Army personnel rose from 3 to 20 when due to the harsh weather conditions the 17 injured Indian Army Soldiers succumbed to death. A statement was put forward by the Indian Army which said, “17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the stand-off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries, taking the total of those killed in action to 20.”
In the scuffle between the two powers, Col. Santosh Bikumalla Babu lost his life. According to reports his death was caused by physical wounds inflicted by stones, iron rods, and barbed wires. Dead bodies of soldiers were found in the Galway River of the eastern part of Ladakh. Soldiers were brutally thrown off the cliffs by the Chinese soldiers who attacked 50 Indian soldiers on 15th and 16th June night.
Col. Santosh Bikumalla Babu was from the state of Telangana, from a town named Suryapet.
He was posted at the borders for 18 months and on Monday he was martyred on the ground of India while serving his motherland. His family of wife and two children, a daughter and a son lost their own to the faceoff.
News Agency, Times of India held an interview with B Upendra, the father of the martyred Colonel. The 62-year-old retired banker, as per reports of Times of India, is still shaken up from the news of the tragic loss of his son but is incredibly proud of his son. He said, “I was always aware that one day I could hear what I heard today, and I was mentally prepared for it. Everyone dies but it is a privilege to die for the country and I am proud of my son.”
He was all the more prepared for the news because he himself had encouraged his son to join the Indian army and serve the motherland. He proudly recalled his son’s brave feats of fighting terrorists in Kupwara.
He was enrolled in Korukunda Sainik School from where he joined NDA. He has been part of many sensitive operations including operations related to Jammu and Kashmir.
Other than Col. Santosh Bikumalla Babu, 19 other Indian Army personnel lost their lives in the skirmish. Naib Sub Nuduram Soren, Naib Sub Mandeep Singh, Naib Sub Satnam Singh Havildar Palani, Havildar Sunil Kumar, Havildar Bipul Roy, Naik Deepak Kumar, Sepoy Rajesh Orange, Sepoy Kundan Kumar Ojha, Sepoy Ganesh Ram, Sepoy Chandrakanta Pradhan, Sepoy Ankush, Sepoy Gurbinder, Sepoy Gurtej Singh are the names which we must never forget. Their sacrifice is our protection.
Following this devastating incident, the government has given a free pass to the Indian Army to retaliate accordingly.
Mohona Bhattacharya
Banaras Hindu University
2nd Year, English Hons.
Varanasi, UP.
Mohona is an avid reader and an equality seeker. She takes a keen interest in painting and finds solace among books, coffee, nature, and dogs.
