Veteran of two wars Vasant Lad passes away

BELAGAVI: Vasant Lad, an 84-year-old war veteran who had taken part in the war against China and the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war, passed away at his residence in Saptapur, Dharwad, late on Friday. Lad is survived by his wife and three children.

After training at the Maratha Light Infantry, Lad was posted in Chennai and then Nagaland before taking part in the wars. During the 1971 Indo-Pak war for Bangladesh liberation, Lad was presumed dead and the authorities had even informed his family via telegram. 

However, Lad’s father refused to believe it and met the family astrologer, who also vouched that Lad was alive. Interestingly, when the family was observing 13th day ritual to mark Lad’s death, a telegram came home informing that he was alive. 

“A photo of Lad with a garland had been installed at Saptapur during the 13th day ritual and the crowd around was shouting Vasant Lad Amar Rahe slogans. What came as a surprise was a telegram from the military headquarters that said he was not dead but was admitted to hospital with injuries,’’ recalls Ganesh Kadam, a family friend. 

Later, it was confirmed by the authorities that Narayan Lad, another soldier, had died in the war and by mistake the telegram sent to Vasant’s house.