Bhagalpur: A soldier from Bihar’s Bhagalpur district, Havildar Santosh Yadav, was martyred during an anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Naushera sector after an army vehicle he was travelling in fell into a ditch late Monday night.
According to army sources, the operation began around 1am. The vehicle, carrying six soldiers, met with the accident during the mission. Yadav sustained critical injuries and succumbed while being taken to hospital.
A resident of Navgachiya in Bhagalpur, Santosh Yadav had been serving in the Indian Army since 2001 and was stationed in the Naushera sector for the past three years. He had recently visited home on leave and was in the process of applying for voluntary retirement to focus on his children’s education and his ageing parents.
“He wanted to spend more time with his family,” said a relative. Santosh is survived by his wife, three daughters and a four-year-old son. His eldest daughter, Diksha Kumari, passed her Class 10 exams this year, while his younger daughters Deepti and Ishika study in Class 9 and Class 7 respectively.
The news of his death reached the family on Tuesday morning. His cousin Brijesh said a call came from the army unit late Monday night, but no one answered. It was only in the morning that they were informed of the fatal accident.
Santosh’s brother-in-law, also a soldier stationed in a nearby unit, personally informed the family. His elder brother is a constable in the Bihar Police.
In the martyr’s native village of Bhittha, a pall of grief has descended. “The family is on their way back from Bhagalpur. The whole village is mourning,” said Kailash Yadav, a local resident.
