Family of the BSF Jawan Kamaljeet Singh at village Nangal Kalan in Mansa. (Express Photo by Gurmeet Singh)
The body of 50-year-old Kamaljit Singh, assistant sub-inspector in BSF who was martyred in an attack from across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, was to be brought to his native village of Nangal Kalan in Mansa district of Punjab Saturday late night and would be cremated on Sunday.
Kamaljit had joined BSF in 1988. His elder brother Bharat Singh (55) had got voluntary retirement from BSF three years back. Three other brothers work with the private sector.
Though the family back home is grief-stricken, Kamaljit’s 21-year-old son Navdeep Singh is determined to join Army. “I want to serve my country so that I can defeat the Pakistani forces across the border. My father had a zeal to serve the country and I learnt the same from him,” says Navdeep, who is in middle of his graduation studies and has already appeared in two recruitment tests for Army, though without success. He says he is working hard for the coming recruitment tests. Kamaljit also has a daughter.
His wife Karamjeet Kaur says her husband was martyred for the country but she will send her son into Army. Bharat Singh, who has been serving in Bathinda ammunition depot after his retirement from the BSF, says, “We were together in a few postings. I would ask him to take voluntary retirement and help his children settle in their lives, but he wanted to complete his service tenure. We are proud of him.”
Bharat stays with his father in Malkana village in Bathinda district while Kamajit’s family had shifted to Nangal Kalan in 2011.
Kewal Singh, Kamaljit’s nephew, says, “Brave jawans are getting martyred on the border, so our PM should think of a solution. Pakistan should be given a befitting reply once for and all rather. It is really painful when we lose a family member. The state and central government should help the family financially or with job to any of the family members. He was the sole bread earner of the family.”
