Gurdaspur, September 26: Lance Naik Sandeep Singh, who succumbed to injuries sustained during a firefight with militants at Tangdhar in Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Monday, was cremated with state honours at his village Kotla Khurad on Tuesday.
Sandeep Singh (30), who had joined Army in 2007, is survived by his wife, a five-year-old son, his parents and a brother. He had spent a month with his family in July, returning to join his unit on August 8. He was constructing a house in Kotla Khurad, a small village with a population of about 250 people.
“Ours is very small village and every one knows each other,” said sarpanch Nishan Singh, as the tiny community of farmers collectively grieved over the loss of a brave son.
Sandeep sustained bullet injuries in the counter-infiltration operation in which five militants were killed. He was evacuated to the 92 base hospital but succumbed to his injuries, said a press release from Army’s Northern Command.
The Army denied social media reports that he had taken part in the cross-LoC surgical strike on September 29, 2016. A Northern Command spokesman said the reports were “unfounded”.
Mandeep Singh, younger brother of Sandeep, who works in Qatar, returned home Monday night after hearing about his brother’s death in action.
