Hyderabad: War veteran cycled 1,120 times to correct Army error

Hyderabad: Every month from 1970, 74-year-old war veteran M. Sampath used to make two trips from his home in Mudfort to the Sainik Welfare Office near Manohar theatre in Secunderabad, on his cycle despite his amputated leg.

Injured in a motor vehicle accident in an operational area during the 1965 Indo-Pak War, he insisted that his was a case of ‘battle casualty’ and not a ‘battle accident’. By rough estimates, he would have made about 1,120 trips.

Every time he applied for help to change the classification, he got a vague answer. As a battle casualty, he would have drawn a higher pension. In 2014, his family found a letter issued by the then Deputy Chief of the Army Staff in 1968 to consider Mr Sampath as a battle casualty and give him the appropriate pension.

Mr Sampath learnt of his victory when he read this newspaper on Monday morning. The Regional Bench of Armed Forces Tribunal, Chennai, (circuit bench, Hyderabad) had directed the Army to pay Mr Sampath additional disability pension as a battle casualty.

Recalling how he had got injured, Mr Sampath said, “I was on a motorcycle ahead of a loaded 18-barrel gun meant for operational deployment. It was about 4 pm on December 17, 1965, and my unit was moving towards Balwara, Rajas-than, 150 km from the border. Though a ceasefire had been announ-ced, violations continued. A few villages were captured. The place was dusty; we were travelling with heavy guns on uneven roads. I was leading the military convoy with other soldiers. Ahead of us, a vehicle was approaching for refilling of weapons. I was hit by this vehicle.” “Initially, I didn’t realise that I had lost my leg. After it was amputated, I attempted suicide because I knew I could not do anything with one leg.”

“I was declared a case of ‘battle accident. and my fight beg-an. I approached every Sainik Welfare Office. The Army took care of my medication and regular check-ups but I deserved more benefits. From 1970 to 2014, my case was lukewarm. In 2014, I found a letter by Deputy Chief of the Army Staff written in 1968 to consider me as a ‘war casualty’ and give me the same (funds).”

Mr Sampath was born in the British Military Line Hospital near Secunderabad AOC. He was enrolled in the Army as a sepoy at the age of 24 in 1963. He was not married when he lost his leg. He married after the war; his wife died in 2014, just before they discovered the all-important letter.

Sampath, too, did a dangal
A footballer and boxer with the Indian Army, the loss of his leg during the Indo-Pak war in 1965 meant that these sports were out of bounds for war veteran M. Sampath.

As compensation, maybe, Mr Sampath personally trained his three daughters to play football and all three have represented the state at the national level.
One of his daughters got a job in the Railway Protection Force under the sports quota.

“I was an avid football player since my youth; I represented the district in many competitions. Before joining the Indian Army I worked in the South Central Railway administration department (on contract bases). I played football for the Railways too,” Mr Sampath said.

“Once my left leg was amputated, it ended my game and left me with just a few medals. But the passion for the sport never died in me. I encouraged my three daughters and my son to take up the sport. Today, all three are national level players; it has helped my second daughter to secure a central government job,” he told his newspaper.

Mr Sampath’s daughters, recalling their training sessions with their father, referred to him as being similar to the wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat, who trained his daughters in wrestling and whose real life story has been made recently into a much-acclaimed film.