Panchkula/Mohali: The mortal remains of Colonel Manpreet Singh, who was martyred in the encounter with terrorists in Anantnag of Jammu and Kashmir, will reach his native village Bharonjian at around 12 pm on Friday. On September 15, army officials will reach here with his mortal remains from Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, army officials reached the house of martyr Colonel Manpreet Singh to make arrangements for the last rites. They are in talks with Manpreet Singh's brother Sandeep regarding his final farewell.
Sandeep Singh, brother of martyr Manpreet Singh, said that the army officials told them that Manpreet's mortal remains would be brought home at around 12 pm tomorrow. The exact time has not been mentioned. Colonel Manpreet was born on 11 March, 1982 at Bharonjian village in the Mohali district of Punjab, six kilometres from Chandigarh. Manpreet Singh's dream was to join the army from the beginning.
Manpreet is survived by wife and two children. Colonel Manpreet Singh's father Lakhmir Singh passed away in 2014, he was also retired from the army. His family consists of brother Sandeep Singh, sister Sandeep Kaur and mother Manjeet Kaur. Manpreet Singh's wife's name is Jagmeet Grewal and they are blessed with a six-year-old son Kabir Singh and a two-year-old daughter Bani Kaur. Manpreet Singh's wife is working in the education department in Haryana.
In all, 22 people from the family have served in the army. The life of Colonel Manpreet Singh and his entire family is an example of patriotism. Apart from his father, Manpreet's grandfather was also in the army and 22 members of Manpreet Singh's family have served in the army.
About six of these people are still in service, one of whom is an NSG commando. Manpreet's father and grandfather had also served in the British Army. A road has also been laid in his village in the name of Shaheed Bhag Singh, who was an army soldier and was martyred in the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war. Hardev Singh, an army soldier from his village, was martyred in the 1962 Indo-China war.
In all, 19 people from Manpreet Singh's street are in the army. In the same street as Manpreet Singh's house, 19 people have held different positions in the army. Even today, three people from his street are serving in the army. The residents of the village say that the people of their village have been working in the army since the time of the British. "If we talk about the British era, about 50 people from his village have served in the army," they recalled.
The mortal remains of Colonel Manpreet Singh and Major A Dhanchok were flown to Chandigarh on late Thursday night.
