Jagraon: Family members, relatives and friends of Naib Subedar Parwinder Singh (42) from 22 Punjab, who laid down his life in high altitude Batalik sector (Ladakh) along the Line of Control, bid him a tearful adieu as his mortal remains reached his home and he was cremated with full military honours here on Sunday.
His 73-year-old father Amar Singh said of his three sons, Parwinder had joined the Army in December 1997 and he was proud of him. His elder son Gurmeet Singh is a shopkeeper and youngest Vikram Singh works in Dubai.
Gurmeet, who is physically challenged, said his younger brother had come home in August last year to drop his family as his unit had moved from Meerut to Ladakh. He added that on February 24 at 8.30pm, he had talked to his wife and son and told them that he was fine. “On February 25 at 8am, I got a call from his unit that he has been seriously injured after his foot slipped on a glacier and he fell in an about 15-foot-deep gorge. His body was flown from Leh and reached Panipat on Sunday and was brought home by road. He was to retire in a couple of years,” said Gurmeet. Their mother Rajinder Kaur had died on August 13, 2015.
Gurmeet said his nephews, Jaspreet Singh (11) and Simarjit Singh (13), studied in classes V and VII, respectively, in a private school.
Residents of Gandhi Nagar Mohalla were proud of the martyr. “We want the government to build a sarai (rest house) in his memory. That will be a befitting tribute to his services to the nation,” said area resident Surjeet Singh.
In-laws of the deceased said the martyr’s wife should get a job and compensation as she had no other means to sustain herself and her children. “My brother-in-law, sister Kulwinder Kaur and their two children lived separately in a room and kitchen provided by the family. Since her brothers-in-law are well-settled, she should get the ex gratia and job announced by the chief minister,” said Sukhdev Singh, brother-in-law of the martyr and resident of Zira. He added that his sister has studied up to Class IX.
Placards and posters with pictures of the martyr were put up at Kamal Chowk and at the entry of the street where he lived.
Rs 50L ex gratia
Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh had on Saturday announced ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh and a government job for a family member of Naib Subedar Parwinder Singh. Extending his sympathies to the family, the CM, in a press statement, had said the state government would provide all possible help and support to them.