A Village Mourns: Soldier's Sacrifice Shatters Wedding Dreams

A pall of gloom descended on Bri Kamila village of Jammu and Kashmir's border district of Samba district as the son of this hamlet Mukesh Singh Manhas lost his life while performing his duty on the Line of Control (LoC) in the Akhnoor area of Jammu district.

Mukesh Singh's marriage was fixed in April this year and preparations were going on in full swing. Not only family members but inhabitants of Bri Kamila and adjoining villages were shell-shocked over the news of Mukesh Singh's martyrdom.

"A religious function was going on at Mukesh Singh's residence when the ill-fated family got the news of the blast. Villagers were gathered at his home for Bhandara (community lunch)", Rajeev Kumar, a resident of Bri Kamila said. The Bhandara was organized by family as a religious ritual in connection with the forthcoming marriage of Mukesh Singh

Preparations for his marriage were going in full swing and Mukesh's family was eagerly waiting the coming April. Singh had returned to his Army unit in Jammu's Akhnoor sector on January 28 after a two-week holiday for his ring ceremony.

Destiny has written something else for the ill-fated family as the joy proved to be short-lived as Mukesh Singh along with Captain Karamjit Singh Bakshi from Jharkhand's Ranchi, lost his life in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast by terrorists near the Line of Control (LoC) on Tuesday.

As reported earlier, a suspected Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday evening claimed the lives of two soldiers. One soldier was seriously injured in the incident.

Reports said that the blast took place when the soldiers were patrolling the LoC. After the blast, all three were shifted to the hospital for treatment, where two of them succumbed to their injuries, while one was undergoing treatment. An officer said that all the soldiers were on patrol at around 3:50 p.m. During this time, an explosion took place near a post in Laleali village of the Bhattal area. He said that the injured soldiers were taken to the hospital, where a soldier, including a captain, succumbed to their injuries.
The deceased soldiers have been identified as Capt. Karamjit Singh Bakshi and Naik Mukesh Singh Manhas.

Preparations were going on for Mukesh Singh's marriage

With tears in his eyes, Chagatar Singh, father of Mukesh Singh Manhas, said that preparations were in full swing for his son's marriage. "Mukesh was in regular touch with family in giving the final touch to his under-construction house", he said and informed that Mukesh returned to his unit only on January 28 after a two-week leave from duty for his ring ceremony with a promise that he would take leave in April for his marriage.

For the last more than nine and half years, Mukesh Singh has served in the Indian Army. Before his unit shifted to the Line of Control in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu district, Mukesh Singh had served in Siachen, Kashmir, and Punjab. His younger brother is also serving in the Army.

General Officer Commanding of the Jammu-based White Knight Corps, Lieutenant General Navin Sachdeva led the wreath-laying ceremony of two Army personnel.

Lt Gen. Sachdeva and other ranks laid wreaths at the tricolour-wrapped coffins of the deceased, officials said, adding that senior IAF, police, and civil officers, including Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Anand Jain and Inspector General of Police, Jammu zone, Bhim Sen Tuti, also attended the ceremony.