New Delhi: Lt Col Karanbir Singh Natt, who died Saturday after being in coma for eight years following injury in a gunfight with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, was cremated Tuesday with full military honours. Originally a Short Service Commission (SSC) officer, Lt Col Natt was a Sena Medal (Gallantry) recipient.
He is survived by his wife Navreet Kaur, daughters Guneet and Ashneet, and his father who is an Army veteran himself.
The Western Army Command put out a post on social media platform X [formerly Twitter] showing a glimpse of his life in uniform.
GOC #VajraCorps expresses deepest condolences on demise of Lt Col KBS Natt, SM, #103InfBnTA(JAKRIF). He was comatose for over 8 years due to injuries sustained in fighting terrorists in Kupwara in Nov 2015, where he saved three of his men while eliminating the terrorist.@adgpi pic.twitter.com/fWyRpXdURZ
— Western Command – Indian Army (@westerncomd_IA) December 26, 2023
He was the second-in-command of the 160 Infantry Battalion TA (Jammu and Kashmir Rifles) when on 22 November, 2015, he went out for an operation in Haji Nanka village of Kupwara.
The soldiers were following up on intelligence inputs that some terrorists were holed up in the village. After being hit by a bullet while trying to save his three men from direct gunfire, he was quickly evacuated and later admitted to the Army Research and Referral Hospital in the national capital.
His family eventually moved him to the Military Hospital in Jalandhar where he remained in a coma till his death Saturday.
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‘Go-getter, always in operations’
Army officers described him as a true olive-green officer and underlined that his love for the Army made him join back the force after his stint as an SSC officer.
After he graduated from the Officers Training Academy in Chennai, Lt. Col. Natt was commissioned in the 19th Battalion of the Brigade of Guards, a mechanised infantry regiment.
He served in the Army for 14 years as an SSC officer before he joined the Territorial Army. His first Commanding Officer, Col. Anil Alagh had written a moving post on Facebook in 2018, detailing Lt Col Natt’s journey.
In this post, Col. Alagh described the late officer as “a go-getter and always in operations with his men even as a Lt. Colonel”.
“One fine night, his luck ran out. In a CASO [Cordon & Search Operation] based on hard Int [intelligence], as he entered to search a tiny outer hutment, a terrorist lying in wait in the darkness, let loose a burst which went through his throat and out via his cheekbone. In those moments, as he fell, he successfully neutralised the S.O.B. ….but he, himself, was grievously injured,” the post said.
He was air-evacuated first to Srinagar, and then to R&R Hospital Delhi, the post said. “The day he was brought in was 23 Nov [November] 2015. He was in vegetative state, he had suffered oxygen loss to the brain. The doctors gave him little chance, but their selfless efforts, the love of his comrades, retired unit veterans like me standing outside the ICCU and praying, his parents, and above all his young lady wife Navpreet, gradually sustained and kept him alive,” the post said.
The post further added: That day began the saga of suffering and extreme test of faith of his intimate family members….of his beloved Navreet, his children Guneet and Ashmeet, and his parents”.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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