Hassan's Devihalli mourns its braveheart Sandeep Kumar

Hassan: A pall of gloom has descended on Devihalli in Hassan taluk on Friday following the death of  sepoy, Sandeep Kumar (24), belonging to the village, who was one among the soldiers who died in an avalanche at Gurez sector of Bandipora in Kashmir on Wednesday. Sandeep was in his eighth year of service  in the 13th Mahar Infantry Regiment.

Inspired by his grandfather and his uncle Manju Shetty, who had earlier served in the Indian Army, Sandeep joined the service and was posted in Gujarat before he was shifted to Kashmir. He was to be relieved from duty in Kashmir and was sent to Jammu but it did not happen owing to the delay in his reliever taking charge, said his uncle, Manju Shetty, who  served in the Indian Army for 17 years. Tragedy struck the family when they were preparing for the marriage of Sandeep in April this year. 

Sandeep visited the village from November 9 to 11 last year for the opening of a temple at Devihalli and also got engaged then. His parents, Puttaraju and Gangamma, own about an acre of land and grow jowar besides rearing a cow. A relative of Sandeep, Manju told DC  that Devihalli villagers were heart-broken that they had lost a son. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, who represents Hassan in the Lok Sabha, called on Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and asked him to make arrangements to fly in the body of Sandeep as early as possible. The body of the sepoy is expected to arrive in Hassan on Saturday.