Mumbai, Oct 21 (PTI) Classmates of an Army officer, who laid down his life battling terrorists near the Line of Control in Kashmir’s Kupwara district 10 years ago, have sent 300 kg sweets to soldiers of the unit he once commanded.
Col Santosh Mahadik, the Commanding Officer of 41 Rashtriya Rifles, sustained serious injuries during an operation in the Haji Naka forest area of Kupwara in November 2015. He was rushed to a hospital, where he passed away.
Col Mahadik was an alumnus of Sainik School Satara in Maharashtra.
His classmates sent boxes of Diwali sweets, weighing 300 kg, to the 41 Rashtriya Rifles, for distribution among the soldiers the valiant officer once commanded.
“Like we have been doing every Diwali since 2016, this time also sent sweets to his unit soldiers as they spend the festival away from their families,” the braveheart’s classmate Col Giridhar Kole (Retd) told PTI.
“The sweets were flown on October 19 from Chandigarh to Srinagar, from where they were taken to Kupwara by road. They reached the 41 Rashtriya Rifles on Monday, and are being distributed to the soldiers at forward posts,” he said.
Col Mahadik’s classmates, who include several serving and retired military officers, launched the initiative, which they call ‘Operation Diwali’, a year after his death.
An officer from the 21 Para-Special Forces unit, Col Mahadik was awarded the Sena Medal for bravery and leadership during Operation Rhino against terrorists in the North-East in 2003, five years after he was commissioned into the Army.
He was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously for his extraordinary courage, leadership and supreme sacrifice.
His school friends remember him as an all-rounder – he was a good goalkeeper, a skilled horse-rider, and a tough boxer. PTI VT VT
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