Ladakh face-off | Bodies of soldiers from Bihar arrive in Patna

Five of the 20 soldiers who died in a face-off with China in Galwan are from Bihar

“India should exact revenge from China,” said ex-army man Anil Kumar as the body of his brother Sunil Kumar reached the Patna airport on Wednesday.

Sunil Kumar was among the 20 Indian soldiers, five of them from Bihar, who lost their lives in a violent face-off with their Chinese counterparts at Galwan along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh on Wednesday.

He hailed from Tara Nagar village in Bihta, near Patna.

Sunil Kumar’s son and a few other family members too were present at the airport. State Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi, Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav and BJP MP from Patliputra constituency Ram Kripal Yadav were among the leaders who had arrived to offer their respects to the martyr.

Retired Army personnel in Danapur area of the State capital took out a candle march and Tiranaga Yatra (tri-colour march). “China must be taught a lesson this time… if the government and our defence forces want our services, we are ready to go to the battle field,” they told media persons.

Reports said bodies of the other four soldiers, Chandan Kumar (Bhojpur), Jai Kishore Singh (Vaishali), Aman Kumar (Samastipur) and Kundan Kumar (Saharsha), were brought to Patna by a special flight on Thursday.

“I feel proud about my son’s martyrdom…I have two grandchildren and I’ll send them too to the army,” said Nimindra Yadav, father of Kundan Kumar.

The youth wings of several political parties burnt effigies of Chinese president Xi Jinping at many places. They also appealed to the people to boycott Chinese goods.

Good news for family

Meanwhile, the grieving family of Sunil Rai from Saran district that was informed of his martyrdom on Tuesday broke into celebration on Wednesday when it came to know that he was alive and well. Sunil Rai himself called his wife Menaka Devi. The confusion, he said, was due to the name he shared with another soldier posted at Leh. Even name of their fathers is said to be Sukhdeo Rai.

“I spoke to my husband on the phone today... God has given me a new lease of life,” a beaming Menaka Devi told local journalists.