Suryapet Son Colonel Santosh Babu Cremated In With State Honours
HYDERABAD : Colonel Santosh Babu was cremated with all state and military honours at his native Kesaram village in Suryapet district on Thursday, June 18. Babu, Commanding Officer of the Bihar Regiment manning the LAC at Galwan Valley in Ladakh, was among 20 soldiers killed in a bloody clash with Chinese troops on Monday night.
Thousands gathered near the residence of the Colonel in Vidyanagar to pay their last respects to the slain soldier who was killed in a violent border clash with Chinese troops near Galwan Valley of Ladakh on Monday night.
Thousand tended the funeral today in Telangana of Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu, who died for his country in the deadly clash with China at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh on Monday, and chanted “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. The four-year-old son of Colonel Santosh Babu, Anirudh, held by his mother, was a part of the heartbreaking rituals carried out with full military honors.
As the Colonel’s father performed the last rites, the little boy was carried by his mother around the funeral pyre. In images that moved the nation, Anirudh, a mask covering his face, was seen saluting his father.
People gathered in large numbers to pay their last respects. Colonel Santosh Babu’s wife breaks down at his funeral. Chants of “Santosh Babu amar rahe (long live Santosh Babu)” and “Vande Mataram” rose up as a huge crowd of people, many in masks, joined the funeral of a man they would not have heard of two days ago. People showered flowers from their balconies on the army vehicle carrying the soldier’s body in a coffin wrapped in the national flag.
Twenty soldiers were killed in the clash in the Galwan Valley with Chinese troops, in the first fatal face-off in 45 years. Beijing has given no official casualty figure but some 45 Chinese soldiers were killed or injured, army sources say.
Colonel Santosh Babu, who studied in a Sainik School and trained in the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, was commissioned into the Bihar Regiment from Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and went on to complete the prestigious Defence Service Staff Course from Wellington before taking over the command of his battalion.
The four-year-old son of Colonel Santosh Babu, Anirudh, held by his mother, was a part of the heartbreaking rituals carried out with full military honors. As the Colonel’s father performed the last rites, the little boy was carried by his mother around the funeral pyre. In images that moved the nation, Anirudh, a mask covering his face, was seen saluting his father.
Chants of “Santosh Babu amar rahe (long live Santosh Babu)” and “Vande Mataram” rose up as a huge crowd of people, many in masks, joined the funeral of a man they would not have heard of two days ago. People showered flowers from their balconies on the army vehicle carrying the soldier’s body in a coffin wrapped in the national flag.
Shops and establishments in Suryapet town remained closed as a mark of respect. After the rituals, the Army gave a gun salute to the soldier who was killed in the line of duty. Army officials hand over the Indian flag to Colonel Santosh Babu’s wife.
Twenty soldiers were killed in the clash in the Galwan Valley with Chinese troops, in the first fatal face-off in 45 years. Beijing has given no official casualty figure but some 45 Chinese soldiers were killed or injured, army sources say.
Colonel Santosh Babu, who studied in a Sainik School and trained in the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, was commissioned into the Bihar Regiment from Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and went on to complete the prestigious Defence Service Staff Course from Wellington before taking over the command of his battalion.
(Bureau Report with Agency Inputs.).
