India-China Clash: Martyred Colonel is From Telangana

In the violent face-off between Indian army and China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday night at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at Galwan Valley in Ladakh, three Indian army men were martyred including an Army Colonel and two soldiers.

The martyred Army Colonel has been identified as Santosh Babu from Telangana’s Suryapet. Santosh, who sacrificed his life at the border, was serving as the Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar regiment. Santosh is said to have bravely fought with the Chinese troops before attaining martyrdom near Patrolling Point 14 in Galwan valley. Along with Col. Santosh Babu, two other soldiers were killed.

No exchange of fire happened at the valley. However, the deaths are reportedly due to the stone-pelting. It’s reported that the casualties were there on both sides. This kinda fight is called skirmish where no bullets are used. This is the first time since 1975 that such an incident has happened. In 1975, four Indian soldiers were killed in an ambush at Tuling La in Arunachal Pradesh.

On the other hand, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the incident and briefed the PM on the overall situation in eastern Ladakh after he held a high-level meeting with Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs.