Colonel Babu joined the military in 2004 and was first posted to Jammu and Kashmir, according to his father.
New Delhi:
Colonel Santosh Babu, the army officer who died in the country on Monday evening, was to be transferred to Hyderabad, but this decision was delayed by the isolation of the coronavirus. He last spoke to his mother on Sunday, one day before being killed in a violent confrontation with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh.
Colonel Santosh Babu of Telangana and two jawans, Havildar Palani of Tamil Nadu and Sepoy Ojha of Jharkhand, were among 20 soldiers killed in the first fatal confrontation between Indian and Chinese soldiers since 1975.
Santosh Babu’s wife, daughter and son are in Delhi.
Colonel B Upender and Manjula’s parents are deeply shocked. He was their only son.
“At first we did not believe it, but later the higher authorities told us what had happened. Our son had to face many challenges,” this morning told the ANI news agency. B Upender, a retired banker.
He said he still wanted his son to join the military, which he couldn’t do. “I could not join the army and serve my country. So I wanted my son to join the defense forces and serve our country, even though my loved ones discouraged this idea,” he said.
Santosh Babu was part of the 16th Bihar regiment as commander.
When he called on Sunday evening with his mother, he seemed concerned about the border tension, but said that it could not be discussed because it was a sensitive issue. “I told him to be careful,” said his father.
“I am both sad and proud. My son gave his life for the country. As a mother, I am sad. He was my only son,” said Colonel Babu’s mother, Manjula.
Colonel Babu joined the military in 2004 and was first posted to Jammu and Kashmir, according to his father.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao expressed his sorrow over the death of Colonel Babu.
“Colonel Santosh has sacrificed his life for the nation and his sacrifice cannot be evaluated in any way,” said the Prime Minister, announcing that his government would support the family anyway.
