Treat him like a war hero, say kin of Mansa sepoy killed in J&K gunfight
MANSA : Hundreds bid a tearful adieu to Sepoy Manjinder Singh, 22, who was martyred fighting a fierce battle with militants in south Kashmir’s Kulgam district, on Thursday, in Mansa.
Hewas cremated with full military honours at his native village Banawali in Mansa district. On Tuesday, Manjinder was hit by a bullet during an encounter with militants at Navbug Gund village in Kulgam district of Jammu and Kashmir.
He was enrolled in the Indian Army on June 11, 2015, and was serving in the 10 Sikh Regiment.
“I have two sons and both are in the army. My elder son is in the 92nd Field Regiment. He is presently posted at Pathankot,” said his father, Gurmel Singh who is a farmer.
Prior to serving in Kashmir, Singh was deployed in Rajasthan. His father said Manjinder would often visit home and to help him with the construction work of their new home.
He added that they were constructing the house because he wanted the two brothers to marry and settle soon.
Manjinder also visited home for Diwali and was to come on a one-month leave, starting November 22, to get the con- struction work completed.
The marty r’ s family has urged the government to treat Sepoy Singh as a war hero. “Fighting with militants is as dangerous as facing the enemy in a war. We have lost an earning member of the family. The government should treat him like a war hero,” said a member of his fam- ily.
Villagers also supported the family’s demand. They informed that Manjinder was ‘an excellent” sportsman and had brought laurels to the village while participating in nationallevel kabaddi tournament. He was also part of the state kabaddi team.
CREMATED WITH FULL MILITARY HONOURS AT HIS NATIVE VILLAGE; WAS TO COME HOME ON NOV 22 TO GET HIS HOUSE CONSTRUCTED