BHUBANESWAR: Odia jawan Saroj Kumar Das, who had gone missing along with 22 other Army personnel following a flash flood in the Teesta River of Lachen Valley due to a sudden cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim, has been martyred, family sources said on Thursday.
The deceased jawan, a resident of Kendudhipa under the Kamakhyanagar block of Dhenkanal district, was part of the Army team that has been reported missing in the disaster.
The news of Saroj martyrdom shattered his family. A pall of gloom descended on his village after family members identified his body through a video call. Das got married on February 11 this year. A few days ago, he had come to visit his family and returned to his camp on September 4..
“The Army authorities called us and informed us that they have recovered five bodies till now. One of them is our brother. We identified him through a mole. Our brother is no more,” said an inconsolable Manoj, elder brother of the martyred jawan Saroj.
Ramachandra Das, father of the deceased jawan, said was inconsolable after he got the news of his son’s martyrdom.
“I had gone to our farmland. When I returned, I found everyone in our family and all our neighbours in tears. Initially, they all tried to hide the information. But, I could guess that some tragedy has happened. After my insistence, the broke the news to me,” said Ramachandra.
Dhenkanal district collector Saroj Sethi visited the bereaved family on Thursday afternoon and offered his condolences. He informed that the martyr's mortal remains will arrive in Odisha on Friday and his last rites will be performed with complete state honour.
At least 14 people have died while 102 have been missing after the cloudburst, reports said. The Defence Ministry has said that the search for the missing people is on. However, intermittent rain and thunderstorms were hampering the rescue operation.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reportedly spoke to Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang and took stock of the situation, and assured all possible support.
