Indian Army jawan Ravi Prakash, a resident of Kasni village in Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana, died of a heart attack during a physical training session while attending a promotion course in Bengaluru. His eight-year-old son, Dev, performed the last rites and lit the funeral pyre on Thursday, August 20, as the village and surrounding areas paid an emotional farewell with full military honours.
Ravi Prakash had been undergoing the promotion course, the final day of which fell on Tuesday, August 18. He was expected to be elevated to the rank of Havildar upon successful completion. During an exercise or physical training (PT) session that morning at the training ground, he suddenly fell ill. Fellow soldiers rushed him to hospital, but he could not be saved. The family was informed that he suffered a cardiac arrest or heart failure.
Background and Service
Ravi Prakash joined the Indian Army in 2015 and was initially recruited into a Madras Engineering Regiment unit. At the time of his death he was serving with the 54 Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles and was posted in Kashmir. He had left home for duty approximately two months earlier and was later deputed to Bengaluru for the promotion course.
His father, Shri Krishna Sangwan, a farmer, later recalled that his son was a five-time gold medalist in boxing, reflecting the physical fitness and discipline that had marked his service.
Final Conversation with Family
The night before his death—Monday, August 17—Ravi Prakash spoke to his wife Sunita and their eight-year-old son Dev over a video call. He told them that training was nearly complete and that he would soon return home as a Havildar. That conversation became his last message to his family.
Mortal Remains Reach Village; Emotional Farewell
The mortal remains were first taken to PGI Rohtak and then brought to Kasni in an Army vehicle on Thursday morning, August 20. Hundreds of villagers and youths gathered in the neighbouring village of Sanwad (or Sawad), about 8 km away, with motorcycles decorated with the Tricolour. They accompanied the vehicle in a bike rally to Kasni. Schoolchildren lined the route holding the national flag and raised slogans in his honour.
At the cremation ground, young Dev performed the last rites and lit his father’s funeral pyre. Army personnel accorded Ravi Prakash a final salute with a gunfire volley. His father, Shri Krishna Sangwan, and wife, Sunita, were inconsolable as villagers offered support and comfort. Ravi Prakash’s belongings were also handed over to the family during the ceremony, received by his young son.
Family and Village in Mourning
Ravi Prakash is survived by his wife Sunita (a homemaker), son Dev (8), father Shri Krishna Sangwan (farmer), mother Neelam (homemaker), elder brother Dinesh (also a farmer), and married elder sister Preeti. News of his sudden death plunged Kasni village into deep mourning. Residents, youths, and schoolchildren turned out in large numbers to pay their respects, turning his final journey into a collective expression of gratitude for his service.
Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini expressed grief over the soldier’s demise and paid tribute to his service and sacrifice for the nation.
The sudden loss of a young soldier on the verge of promotion has left his family and the close-knit rural community of Kasni in profound shock. Ravi Prakash’s story underscores both the physical demands of military training and the personal cost borne by families of those who serve. His eight-year-old son’s act of lighting the pyre remains one of the most poignant images from the farewell.
