Colonel Suresh Babu's mother proud of her son's sacrifice but also sad at losing him

Photo: Zee News

New Delhi: Colonel B Santosh Babu's mother is proud of her son's sacrifice but is also sad at losing her only son, who was martyred on June 15 night during the violent clashes with the Chinese troops at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.

On receiving the news of Colonel Santosh Babu's sacrifice, his family that hails from Suryapet town in the Nalgonda district (Telangana) said they are proud of their son who sacrificed his life for the motherland. 

Martyred Colonel Santosh's mother Manjula said, "I'm proud of my son who gave the supreme sacrifice for motherland but as a mother, I'm sad today."

She added, "He was my only son. I came across the news in the afternoon, while my daughter-in-law got the news in the morning."

Colonel Santosh is one of the three soldiers who were martyred during the violent clashes with the Chinese troops at the LAC in the Galwan Valley (Eastern Ladakh).

Colonel Santosh was the Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar Regiment and was posted on borders for over a year and a half. 

He is survived by wife Santoshi, a 9-year old daughter Abhinav and a 4-year old son Anirudh. 

The news of the first instance of violence leading to fatalities between India and China in over four decades at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) has shocked everyone across India.

Meanwhile, MEA's official statement read, "Senior Commanders had a productive meeting on June 6, 2020, and agreed on a process for such de-escalation. Subsequently, ground commanders had a series of meetings to implement the consensus reached at a higher level. While it was our expectation that this would unfold smoothly, the Chinese side departed from the consensus to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Galwan Valley."

The statement also said, " On the late-evening and night of June 15, 2020, a violent face-off happened as a result of an attempt by the Chinese side to unilaterally change the status quo there. Both sides suffered casualties that could have been avoided had the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side."

Earlier in the evening today, the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Prime Minister Modi and briefed him on the situation. 

According to reports, he was accompanied by the Army chief MM Naravne and Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat.

Before briefing PM Modi, Jaishankar along with MM Naravne and Bipin Rawat visited the residence of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh where they held brainstorming session over the Galwan Valley standoff incident as well on the overall situation in the eastern Ladakh.