Himachal fails to take note of Nurpur Agniveer’s death in J-K encounter

Rajiv Mahajan

Nurpur, June 26

A month after Nurpur’s Agniveer Kartik Chambial (21) died in an encounter in J&K, the HP Government has failed to take any cognisance of his martrydom, leaving his parents — retired Naib Subedar Kuldeep Singh and Sunita Kumari — shattered.

Kartik belonged to Baan village under the Nagni gram panchayat in Nurpur. He was martyred on May 27 in an encounter between the Army and terrorists in the Uri sector of Jammu & Kashmir.

According to information, a team of Army personnel brought the mortal remains of the martyr to his native village on May 28. During the last rites, no guard of honour was given to the martyr and no representative of the state government or the administration was present. A visit to the village revealed that the family was devastated with the Agniveer’s death and his mother was inconsolable.

Kuldeep Singh said Kartik, who was recruited in the 5 JAK Rifles in November 2022, had joined the unit headquarters in Jabalpur. He said Army personnel accompanying his son’s body told him that information regarding the death of Kartik had been conveyed to the state government. “My son was the first Agniveer from HP who attained martyrdom, but no government official attended his funeral,” he said. Kuldip Singh demanded that the government primary school in the village be named after his son.

International Human Rights Organisation state president Rajesh Pathania, who met the Agniveer’s parents, said it was unfortunate that the HP Government had neglected the supreme sacrifice by the first Agniveer of the state. He urged the government to immediately give Rs 1-crore assistance to the family on the pattern of Punjab.

Alleging negligence on the part of the government and administration, Col Darshan Singh Mankotia (retd), state president of the Akhil Bhartiya Ex-Servicemen Seva Parishad, said such attitude of the government was condemnable.

When contacted, Nurpur SDM Gursimar Singh said no information had been received about the martyrdom or the last rites of Agniveer Kartik Chambial, but he came to know about the incident two days ago and the local Naib Tehsildar visited the martyr’s family on Monday.

“As per family’s wishes a proposal to name the government primary school of the village after the martyr’s name is being prepared for government approval,” he said.

1st HP Agniveer martyr

My son was the first Agniveer from HP to attain martyrdom, but no official attended his funeral. — Kuldeep Singh, retired Naib Subedar

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