New Tehri, July 9: Rifleman Adarsh Negi had spoken to his father over the phone on Sunday. The next day, Dalbir Singh Negi got another call, informing him about his son’s death in the terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua.
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The phone call on Monday evening left the family in Thati Dagar village of Uttarakhand’s Tehri district in a state of shock and despair.
Adarsh Negi (25), a farmer’s son, was the youngest of the three siblings. He had left his college studies midway to fulfil his dream of serving the country through the army.
He was among the five soldiers from Uttarakhand killed in a terrorist attack on an Army convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua on Monday. It was the fifth terror attack in the Jammu region within a month.
Dalbir Singh Negi said his son studied up to class 12 at Government Inter College in Piplidhar and then joined Garhwal University to do BSc. He left his studies to join the Garhwal Rifles, he said.
“I spoke to him last on July 7 over the phone. He had come home in February and returned on March 26 to join duty,” Dalbir Singh Negi said fighting back his tears.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Cabinet ministers Premchand Aggarwal and Ganesh Joshi placed a wreath on the coffins of the five martyrs as their mortal remains were brought to the Jolly Grant airport here.
“Five brave soldiers of Uttarakhand attained martyrdom during the cowardly terrorist attack in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir. This is a moment of great pain for all of us,” Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a statement.
“Our bravehearts made the supreme sacrifice for their motherland in keeping with the rich military tradition of Uttarakhand,” he said, adding their “sacrifice will not go in vain.
Terrorists, who are the enemies of humanity and guilty of this cowardly attack, will not be spared at any cost, he said, adding the people who sheltered them will also have to face the consequences.
He said the entire state stands with their families in this hour of grief.
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