By Mohd Ashraf Ganie
Jammu: Tragedy befalls the family of Naik Mukesh Singh in the Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir as his life was cut short in a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) blast on Tuesday. Mukesh’s family was preparing to see him in a wedding dress as he was set to get married on April 18 but, his death left behind a grieving family and shattered dreams of a happy married life.
A native of Kamila village was one of the army soldiers killed in the IED blast during a fence patrol in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. Another deceased soldier is Captain Karamjit Singh Bakshi of Jharkhand. The blast took place at around 3:50 pm when suspected militants targeted an army patrol close to the Line of Control (LoC).
Mukesh, the son of retired police personnel, was expected to visit his home on February 25 to see the marriage preparations, but the news of his death descended a pall of gloom on the family members and his relatives.
The sarpanch of the village said that the whole village is in grief after the tragic death of Mukesh, who served Army for 11 years while his elder brother is also in the army.
“We salute his martyrdom as he laid his life in the line of duty,” the sarpanch said. “The moments of happiness turned to mourning for the family as they were busy with marriage preparations but they had to arrange for his funeral,” he said.
Another neighbour said, Mukesh visited home a few days ago and brought tiles, furniture, and other materials for the decoration of his house before marriage. "But this incident turned everything upside down," he said.
The last rites of Mukesh are scheduled on Wednesday as he will be cremated with full military honour later in the day at his native village after the wreath-laying ceremony of the deceased soldiers.
#GeneralUpendraDwivedi, #COAS and All Ranks of Indian Army salute the supreme sacrifice of #Bravehearts Captain Karamjit Singh Bakshi and Naik Mukesh who laid down their lives in the line of duty in #Akhnoor, J&K.#IndianArmy offers deepest condolences and stands firm with the… https://t.co/6PmxPrRuHx
— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) February 12, 2025
Earlier on Wednesday, the Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG PI) posted on X (formerly Twitter), “#GeneralUpendraDwivedi, #COAS and All Ranks of Indian Army salute the supreme sacrifice of #Bravehearts Captain Karamjit Singh Bakshi and Naik Mukesh who laid down their lives in the line of duty in #Akhnoor, J&K.”
“#IndianArmy offers deepest condolences and stands firm with the bereaved families in this hour of grief,” it wrote.
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