He promised to call: Killed jawan’s mother

TARN TARAN: On Monday afternoon, Kashmir Kaur (65) rushed from Marhana village to Harike Pattan town in Punjab’s 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 Dharamsala military station.

But by the time she reached there, neighbours told her that Hardeep (45), a havildar in the 18 Sikh Regiment, had succumbed to bullet injuries.

Hardeep and Naik Harpal Singh were allegedly shot by their colleague Jasbir Singh (21), before he killed himself in their barracks early on Monday.

An i nconsolable 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) and son Anmoldeep (8).

His father, Chanchal Singh, a truck driver, died of heart attack a month-and-a-half ago. The fam- ily’s ancestral house is at Marhana village where Kashmir Kaur lives.

The neighbours have informed Paramjit’s parents who said they will tell her about the death on Tuesday when Hardeep’s body is likely to reach home.

Kashmir Kaur, talking of Hardeep’s grit and perseverance, recalled how her son made it to the army in 13th attempt, in 1996. “... He was to retire in 2021. I can’t believe he 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... But he did not keep his promise.”

Kuldeep Singh said they have not received any official information from the army or the district administration about the death.

“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.