A true warrior’s tryst with destiny

There were other units in place. With Tiger Hills being the psychological barrier that the army had to take. Along with Shinde’s unit, the 2 Rajputana Rifles and the Grenadiers were in place. Each unit given a specific point to capture on the hilly terrain.

L/Nk Shinde’s unit was detailed for the peak numbered as 4700, a good 15000 ft above sea level. But then in this action, height was just incidental. The objective and the izzat (Honour) of the platoon was at stake. According to Naik Mahadeo Jagtap, who accompanied L/Nk Shinde’s body to Pune, “we moved out after 2200 hours.” And the assault started.

Most of it was sheer climb as L/NK Shinde’s Bravo company kept climbing under heavy fire. “The Pakistanis were shouting at us as we moved from point to point,” recalls Naik Jagtap. “The company was led by Captain Sumit Roy and he was closely followed by L/NK Shinde. After midnight the Pakistanis started retreating and this resulted in a panic. The enemy started shelling us as we crouched behind boulders firing back at the bunkers.”

It all happened in a second. The shell landed with devastating effect and hit Capt Roy and L Nk Shinde. The first splinter sliced through Shinde’s lower abdomen followed by another. “The worst part was that we had to wait. Wait for almost 12 hours before we could evacuate him,” says Naik Jagtap. Hours that proved crucial for the Maratha as his buddies watched helplessly, pinned down by the shelling.

By the time they returned to base camp and administered first aid it was too late. And then the waiting took over, as they waited for transport to Srinagar. “The casualties had to be prioritised,” recalls Naik Jagtap.

Back home in Pingori village in Saswad in Pune district, while the doctor attends to his heart broken wife Chaya, his three children, Ranjeet (10), Sagar (5) and daughter, Seema (2) are a confused lot. But then for the family the waiting had already started. A waiting that had dogged them through Shinde’s tour of duty in Sri Lanka and various counter insurgency operations. As the troops of the Signal Regiment of the Southern Command presented Shok Shastra another Maratha warrior had met his tryst with destiny.