Una (HP), Jun 30 (PTI) Army Havildar Vishambar Singh, who died while on duty in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun, was laid to rest in his village here on Tuesday.
Singh, a resident of Malangad Miyan village in Himachal’s Una district, fell ill when he was cycling back to his unit in Dehradun after participating in a PT session on Monday. Fellow soldiers rushed him to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Singh’s 11-year-old son Akshit lit the funeral pyre amid sobbing relatives and others present at the cremation ground. Singh’s death is the second blow to the family, which had lost his younger brother Jaswinder Singh, who also served in the Army, five years ago.
As Vishambar Singh’s mortal remains arrived home at 8.30 on Tuesday morning, his mother Sheela Devi and wife Sonia Devi clung to the coffin. Both were inconsolable and repeatedly lost consciousness.
The havildar’s body was kept at home for a brief while to allow people to pay their final respects. Hundreds of people gathered to bid him a tearful farewell, and his last rites were performed with full state honours.
Bangana Sub-Divisional Magistrate Sonu Goyal, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Headquarters) Ajay Thakur, military officers from Dehradun, former minister Virender Kanwar, and Lieutenant Colonels Raghuvir Singh, Dharmendra Patial, and KC Sharma paid tributes to Havildar Singh.
Chants of “Vishambar Singh Amar Rahe” (Long live Vishambar Singh) echoed throughout the area during the funeral procession.
Singh is survived by his parents, wife, and two sons aged six months and 11 years.
Singh had joined the Artillery Regiment of the Indian Army in July 2008. He married Sonia Devi a few years later.
He had returned to duty in Dehradun about a month-and-a-half ago after a leave, and had spoken to his wife and his father on the phone for the last time on Sunday evening.
Singh’s father Rasila Ram is a retired Army Subedar who is currently re-employed in Chandigarh. He was scheduled to return to duty in Chandigarh on Monday evening when he received the news of his elder son’s death. PTI COR BPL RUK RUK RUK
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