PATNA: A village in Bihar’s Madhepura district on Monday mourned the death of its son, Captain Ashutosh Kumar, 25, of Indian Army’s 18 Madras Regiment, who was martyred in a fierce exchange of fire with terrorists near LoC in J&K’s Kupwara sector on Sunday.
Captain Ashutosh, who belonged to Jagir tola village, was an alumnus of Sainik School, Bhubaneswar. He joined the Indian Army in 2018.
A bachelor, he leaves behind his parents and two sisters – elder Khusboo Kumari is married while the younger Anshu is pursuing her post-graduation from a local college.
“We have lost everything. We never thought such a day would come,” said his elder sister, tightly holding his photograph.
The village received the tragic news early in the morning and soon scores of villagers gathered at his house.
Madan Kumar, a villager, said that Captain Kumar was passionate about joining the Indian Army since his school days.
Locals said that martyr’s mother Geeta Devi fainted soon after she heard about the martyrdom of his son from her husband Ravindra Bharti, who is an employee at a veterinary hospital in the district.
“I am sad I have lost my son at a young age, but I am proud that he sacrificed his life for the nation. And that’s what he was trained for,” the fallen soldier’s father said.
Captain Kumar had spoken to his parents over phone a day before his martyrdom. His relatives said he was due home on Diwali and Chhath.
“He was a brilliant student of science stream and had qualified for the NDA. He gunned down two militants before being hit by bullets,” said Dheeraj Kumar, a youth from Parmanpur village. Sources said Kumar’s body would be brought to Patna by a special flight on Tuesday.
Condolence message
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Monday condoled the death of four security personnel.
“The entire country stands firmly with the bereaved families in this hour of grief,” he said in his message.