'We are in deep shock', say parents of Col Santosh Babu, who lost his life in violent face-off with Chinese soldiers
Jun 17, 2020
Suryapet (Telangana) [India], June 17 : Parents of Colonel Santosh Babu, Commanding Officer of the 16 Bihar Regiment, who lost his life in the violent face-off with Chinese soldiers in Galwan valley area, are shocked by the unexpected loss.
Upender and Manjula, the parents said they had first been in disbelief but later accepted the truth after being informed by higher authorities about the face-off.
Manjula, the martyred Colonel's mother, told ANI, "We received the news, yesterday afternoon at 2 pm that my son has been martyred. I could not believe that my son has been martyred."
"We are under deep shock, We could not believe it when we got to know about our son. I could not believe it as he was very brave. Since the last fifteen years, he had gained success. I immediately inquired from one of the officers. Later, several officers of the Army contacted directly through my phone. They said that they are making arrangements to get the body from that place to Suryapet," Col Santosh's father, Upender, told ANI.
He added that the body of his son will reach Suryapet by today evening, and also said that he has been given assurance of full support from leaders and officials, including MoS (Home) G Kishan Reddy.
"By tomorrow the body will reach here, along with my daughter-in-law and the kids, the officer told me on phone. Kishan Reddy spoke to me on the phone as well. All the delegates from Suryapet, including, Collector has given us assurance to support us at this time. An Army official has informed that the body will start in the day and reach Suryapet at around 4 pm via Chandigarh to Hyderabad and then Suryapet," he said.
The violent face-off happened on late evening and night of June 15 in Ladakh's Galwan Valley as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation in Eastern Ladakh and the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side, India said on Tuesday.
The Army confirmed that 20 soldiers were killed in the face-off including 17 who were critically injured at the stand-off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain.
Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area in Ladakh where they had earlier clashed on the night of June 15 and 16, Indian Army said.
