An inconsolable mother, a wife unaware of tragedy
TARN TARAN : On Monday afternoon, Kashmir Kaur (65) rushed from Marhana village to Harike Pattan town in Tarn Taran district to meet her daughter-in-law and grandchildren soon after she got to know that her son Hardeep Singh was injured in a firing incident at the Dharamshala military station.
But by the time she reached there, neighbours told her that Hardeep (45), a havildar with the 18 Sikh Regiment, had succumbed to bullet injuries.
Hardeep and Naik Harpal Singh were shot by their colleague Jasbir Singh (21), a sepoy, with his service rifle before shooting himself dead in their barracks in the wee hours of Monday.
An inconsolable Kashmir Kaur was taken to a house in the neighbourhood as Hardeep’s wife Paramjit Kaur (43), who suffers from high-blood pressure, was not informed about his death.
Besides his mother and wife, Hardeep is survived by daughter Jashandeep Kaur (12), a Class 8 student, and son Anmoldeep (8), who studies in Class 4.
His father, Chanchal Singh, a truck driver, died of heart attack just one-and-a-half-months back.
The family’s ancestral house is at Marhana village where Kashmir Kaur lives.
The neighbours called Paramjit’s parents who said they will tell her about the death on Tuesday when Hardeep’s body is likely to reach home.
Her throat choked with emotions, Kashmir Kaur recalled as how after completing his matriculation her son he started pursuing his only passion to join the security forces to serve the country. But it was in the 13th attempt that he made to the army in 1996, she said, talking of his grit and perseverance.
“Three years after joining the army, my son married Paramjit from Varpal village in the district. He was to get retired in 2021. I cannot believe that my son is no more,” she said.
She said, “On Saturday night, Hardeep called me and enquired about my health. Then he said he would call me later as he had to wake up early in the morning. But he did not keep his promise.”
Hardeep was deployed in Chicago as part of a United Nations (UN) mission in Chicago, US, before he was deployed in Dharamshala around a year ago, his paternal uncle Kuldeep Singh said.
Hardeep’s younger brother Fateh Singh lives in Germany while his two sisters Kuldeep Kaur and Sandeep Kaur are married.
HAVILDAR HARDEEP SINGH’S WIFE, WHO IS SUFFERING FROM HIGHBLOOD PRESSURE, WAS NOT INFORMED OF HIS DEATH ON MONDAY
FAMILY GETS NO OFFICIAL INFORMATION YET
Kuldeep Singh said they did not get any official information from the army or the district administration about the incident.
“We came to know this from the media. Hardeep’s mobile phone is switched off since. We have only informed his wife that he was hospitalised after receiving a bullet injury in the leg. She is in a state of shock,” he added.
Deputy commissioner Pardeep Kumar Sabarwal said the administration had not received any communication about the development from the department of defence services welfare.