Ludhiana: 6-year old bids goodbye to father who died in line of duty in Leh

Swaranjit is survived by six-year-old daughter Simranjeet Kaur and another five-month old daughter Sukhmandeep Kaur.

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Sarabjit Singh, younger brother of the deceased, also posted as naik in Army, said, “She kept asking when her father would come home on leave. Even in school she keeps telling her friends that her father is an Armyman and would come to meet her soon. She could not recognise the body as the face was damaged and hasn’t still come to terms with the fact that her father is no more.”

Swaranjit is survived by six-year-old daughter Simranjeet Kaur and another five-month old daughter Sukhmandeep Kaur.

Sarabjit Singh said that on June 21, the Army vehicle in which his brother was travelling along with two other personnel, rolled down into a gorge following an avalanche in Leh where he was posted since last year. While two others got seriously injured, his brother died in the line of duty. He added that it was in 2008 that his brother had joined the Army because their family needed financial support.

Naik Swaranjit Singh with wife, and both daughters.

Swaranjit’s father Paramjit Singh works as an electrician and the family does not own any agricultural land. “After my brother joined the Army in 2008, he stopped me from doing so and said that the training and working conditions in the Army were very tough so I should not join, but I also wanted to support my family like my brother. I joined a year after him. Our father needed our support so we both joined the Army to serve the country and help our family,” said Sarabjit. “He had last come home in March to meet his newborn daughter as he could not come at the time of her birth,” he added.

Father Paramjit Singh said that his son has not died but has become amar after laying down his life for the country. “My son has not died but has become immortal after laying his life in the line of duty. Our only demand is that some memorial should be constructed in his remembrance as a tribute,” said the father.

Wife Gurpreet Kaur said that her husband should be given all honors and martyr status which are given to the soldiers who die in line of duty while serving the country. “He had said that he will come back home soon and take leave to spend time with both daughters. He should be given all honors and status which are given to a martyr by the government,” said his wife Gurpreet Kaur.

Village sarpanch Mandeep Kumar said that Swaranjit Singh had risen from a very humble background as his father worked as an electrician and the family did not own any agricultural land.

“Government is requested to help the family as much as they can and get his both daughters educated. At village level we also demand the construction of a memorial so that coming generations know of his sacrifice. Ours is a historical village related to Sikh history but till today no memorial has been constructed in the memory of any martyr. This sacrifice should be immortalized with the construction of a memorial,” said the sarpanch.