Punjab bids adieu to Poonch bravehearts with tears, salutes

Ravi Dhaliwal

Talwandi Bharth (Gurdaspur), April 22

It was a highly emotional moment for 1,000-odd people who converged to pay homage to martyred soldier Sepoy Harkrishan Singh when his wife, Daljeet Kaur, with her two-year-old daughter in her lap, lit the pyre of her husband amid the chanting of hymns at the Talwandi Bharth village creamtion ground. Harkrishan was killed in a terror attack in Poonch.

An hour before the last rites were to be performed, Mangal Singh, father of the martyr, received a telephone call from Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The CM assured him that he would personally meet the family before the “bhog” at the village gurdwara on April 29.

The CM asked Mangal Singh, “Daso thuanu ki chahida hai (tell me what do you want)”. Mangal Singh replied that the village school should be upgraded and a community hall and a stadium should be built on the outskirts. The CM also informed Mangal Singh that he would hand over the ex gratia amount of Rs 1 crore as announced by the government the day he would meet the family.

“My son was a warrior with a cause to protect his motherland at all costs. And that is what he was doing when he met his end. Soldiers like Harkrishan Singh never die. Millions of my countrymen have a sound sleep at night just because men like my son valiantly guard the borders. My only wish is to see my granddaughter study hard and become an Army officer. That will be a just tribute to her father,” he said.

The martyr’s mother, Pyar Kaur, refused to speak.

The district administration was represented by Gurdaspur DC Himanshu Aggarwal, Batala SSP Ashwini Gotyal and SDM Shayari Bhandari. Members of the Shaheed Sainik Parivar Suraksha Parishad, led by its general secretary Ravinder Vicky, were also present along with senior officers from the Tibri Cantonment.

Batala legislator Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi and former Qadian MLA Fatehjung Singh Bajwa were among the politicians at the cremation.

Want grandchild to join army

My son was a warrior. My only wish is to see my granddaughter become an Army officer. That will be a just tribute to her father. — Mangal Singh, Harkrishan’s father