Ex-soldier collapses on stage swaying to ‘Maa tujhe salaam’, audience continued clapping thinking fall was part of act

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 31

In a tragic development on Friday, a retired soldier collapsed on stage while clutching to the national flag and swaying to “Maa tujhe salaam”, while the audience kept clapping for a few minutes thinking the fall was part of his act.

In a video that went viral across social media handles, Balwinder Singh Chabra, an Indore resident and a retired soldier, is seen putting up a spirited performance before a gathering during a yoga camp organised by a group called Aastha Yoga Kranti Abhiyan in the city.

Chabra is seen dancing to the AR Rahman song “Maa tujhe salaam” with the Tricolour in hand. Few minutes into the performance, Chabra was seen gasping for breath and eventually falling on the stage.

Even after the fall, the enthused crowd that was clapping through the ex-soldier’s earlier act continued to applaud thinking his fall was part of the performance.

Not just that, a local organiser stood up and started waving the Tricolour trying to fill in for Chabra who everyone thought would get up soon.

It was only after about three minutes of complete inaction on Chabra’s part that everyone realised he had passed away. The soldier had died of a cardiac arrest.

Indore based Pankaj Kshirsagar, OSD to former Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, confirmed Chabra’s demise to The Tribune terming the incident “absolutely tragic”.

“What’s most touching is that the soldier died waving the Tricolour,” he said when contacted.

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