Among Armymen killed in J&K gunfight: Son of a jawan who became officer in same unit his father served

His late father Lakhmir Singh was a Naik in the 12 Sikh Light Infantry. He died in 2014 but not before he had seen his son become an officer in the same battalion in which he had served as a jawan.

Colonel Manpreet Singh’s family members at his home in Bharaunjian village in Mullanpur Garibdas township of Mohali district. (Express Photo)

There is stoicism in the eyes of Manpreet’s brother Sandeep Singh and sister Sandeep Kaur. Their mother, Manjeet Kaur, sits silently in a room surrounded by grieving relatives. A big photograph hangs on the wall of happier days with the entire family in one frame.

“He was very fond of photography. He would carry his camera with him wherever he went. He had a stint with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Africa and took so many photos there,” recalls Shivani, a friend of Manpreet. They worked together at a Chartered Accountant’s firm in Chandigarh in early 2000s as interns.

Manpreet did his schooling from Kendriya Vidyalaya Mullanpur before doing B Com from SD College Chandigarh. “He passed the Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination and joined the Indian Military Academy in 2004. He passed out in June 2015 and joined the 12 Sikh LI,” says his younger brother Sandeep Singh, who works in Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Manpreet was commanding the same battalion, 19 RR, which had killed Burhan Wani in 2017 in Kashmir. He had been awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry in 2021 for killing two terrorists in a gunfight.

His sister Sandeep Kaur says Manpreet came on leave in June and the siblings and their mother had planned to visit him in J&K in October as he was expecting his posting soon.

“He was with the 19 RR as a Lt Colonel and was subsequently appointed the Commanding Officer after his promotion to Colonel,” recalls his sister, who last spoke to him on Rakshabandhan.

Colonel Manpreet’s body is expected to arrive late on Thursday in Chandigarh and the family intends to hold the cremation on Friday afternoon in the village. He is survived by his wife, Jagmeet Grewal, and two children, six-year-old Kabir Singh and two-year-old Bani Kaur.