In the aftermath of the Kargil war, the government had announced various schemes to rehabilitate the soldiers who were left injured during the fight. But one such Kargil hero now runs a juice shop in his village in Delhi to sustain a family of four. Satbeer Singh was posted with the 2nd Rajputana Rifles which fought to recapture the Mount Tololing.
Singh became differently-abled due to gunshot wounds sustained during the war. “I was the guide (at the forefront), I saw three insurgents. I spotted them and informed my battalion and zeroed in on them. We were only 15 metres apart, approx 45 ft. I attacked them with a hand grenade while the Bofors gun was used to cover us from the firing squad behind. They (intruders) were thinking that Indian soldiers couldn’t get close to them,” he told InUth.com.
He added, “After throwing the hand grenade, I fired 30 bullets at them. While I was loading the next magazine, the grenade exploded. Two of the insurgents were thrown out, and I took care of the remaining one.”
Singh claimed he was promised a petrol pump and a plot of land, adding that he did receive the piece of land but it was eventually taken back from him. “I invested all my money on the land, but it was taken back,” he said.
Talking about political interference, Singh alleged he was once about to receive the petrol pump, but it didn’t happen due to some political reasons. Singh receives a pension of Rs 18,000 a month, but to sustain his family of four, he has to run a juice shop.