Honouring the Braveheart Colonel Santosh Babu who was martyred in the June 15 Galwan clash, a bust of his has been installed in his hometown in Telangana’s Suryapet on Friday. The two-and-a-half feet bust was ordered by the Colonel’s friends from sculptors in West Godavari district in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh. A month later, a bronze statue will also be installed and a crossroads in Suryapet is likely to be renamed as Colonel Santosh Marg.
Earlier on June 20, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 crore for his family. KCR had also announced that his government will offer Rs 10 lakh solatium each to the families of 19 other Army personnel who were martyred alongside Colonel Babu. The amount will be handed over to the Defence Ministry. “The state government will give Rs 5 crore cash to the family, besides a residential plot, and Group-1 job to his wife. The chief minister also announced that he himself would personally go to the Santosh Kumar’s house and hand over the help,” stated a release from the Telangana government.
As Gopinath and Sobha’s eyes welled up with tears of joy for their daughter, Flying Officer Reshmi Bhat too couldn’t hold back hers, her heart aching to meet her parents and seek their blessings before she joins the Indian Air Force as a Flying Officer. In spite of facing all odds amid extreme poverty and anxiety for pursuing higher studies, Reshmi’s dreams to reach the sky was indomitable.
After completing her higher education in BTech with the help of Viswa Konkani Association and working for TCS in Bengaluru, she was selected to Air Force Academy in Hyderabad where she underwent six months of training and to AFTC, Bengaluru where she received one-year training as the only lady officer in her batch.
Sharing happiness. Parents Gopinath Bhatt and Sobha Bhatt. Photo: T K Pradeepkumar
Having completed her Flying Officer course under Indian Air Force, now Reshmi G Bhatt has been appointed in the Aeronautical Engineering branch of the IAF as the first lady Officer from Malayali Gowda Saraswat Brahmins community. Speechless at her achieved greatness, Gopinath and Sobha blessed their daughter with all the God’s blessings and felt grateful for His kindness and reward for their child’s hard labor and never-give-up spirit.
Flying Officer Reshmi Bhat’s childhood was filled with poverty and struggles. The family makes both ends meet with the mere income Gopinath receives from cooking and Pooja.@SSBCrackExamspic.twitter.com/nWjhrNMPFh
Suresh Gangwal, a tea stall owner at Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh, was a proud man while watching his daughter on TV. His daughter, Flying Officer Aanchal Gangwal, who graduated from the Indian Air Force Academy on Saturday, bagged the President’s Plaque. A Computer Science graduate from a government degree college in Neemuch, Ms. Gangwal joined the Madhya Pradesh police department as a Sub-Inspector. Later, she quit the job after being into merit as Labour Inspector. “I worked there for eight months before joining the forces,” she said. Soon after graduation, she started appearing for AFCAT, and got recommended in SSB in her sixth attempt.
Aanchal Gangwal won the President’s Plaque in admin branch
When asked about the same, Aanchal said: “I am always ready to serve my motherland and see this as an opportunity to do so.” Aanchal holds a graduate degree in Computer Science from Sitaram Jaju Government Girls College in Neemuch, MP and had earlier worked as a sub-inspector in the MP Police Department and a labour inspector in MP Labour Department for eight months, before joining AFA.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBsyTH5ggSE/
Meet Flying Officer Aanchal Gangwal Daughter Of A Tea Seller Becomes Officer https://t.co/pefoi042wC
Flying Officer Anurag Nain who passed out from Air Force Academy has been awarded the “Sword of Honour“. Nain, who stood first in the order of merit in his batch, has been commissioned into the IAF’s Flying Branch. He joined Indian Air Force Training Academy in January 2019 via NCC (National Cadet Corps) special entry scheme. Cadet Anurag Was a cadet at No 1 Delhi Air Squadron NCC from 2016-2018. Wg Cdr Sumeet Malhotra, Commanding Officer of the unit has described him as a very sincere, composed and dedicated trainee.
Last year, Flying officer Ritwik Sethi, Lt Shashwat Dabaas and two more cadets of No. 1 Delhi Air Squadron NCC have joined the forces as officers. In this photo, Cadet Anurag is seen getting trained by his NCC CO Wg Cdr Sumeet Malhotra on Pipistrel Virus Aircraft held by NCC.
He displayed good skills from the first time he took to flying, his CO said. No. 1 Delhi Air Sqn has given a large number of officers to the Armed forces, including the present CO who was a cadet of this unit from 1990-1993.
The Air Force Academy conducted its Combined Graduation Parade (CGP) ceremony at Dundigal in Hyderabad on Saturday (June 20, 2020). The event began at 8.45 am and as many as 123 air warriors including 19 women officers got commissioned by the Indian Air Force (IAF). This was the 205th course of the Indian Air Force Academy of pre-commissioning training of Flight Cadets of various IAF branches.
The parade was reviewed by Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria. Following the Passing Out Parade, Pilatus, Kiran Hawk, Chetak helicopters and an aerobatic display by Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) of the IAF carried out a flypast.
Like the Indian Military Academy’s Passing Out Parade, parents and family members of the cadets was not able to attend the POP due to the restrictions imposed to stop the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak.
The graduating IAF officers will directly report to their assigned squadrons and units unlike previously when they used to be given a break of meet their families.
While participating in the all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening, the chief minister announced ex gratia of Rs 5 crore to the family of Colonel Santosh Babu in honour of his bravery. He also announced that the State government would provide a residential plot to the family and Group-1 job to the Army officer’s wife Santoshi. KCR said he would soon visit the family members of Colonel Santosh Babu and present the cheque personally on behalf of the state government.
What is more, KCR also announced Rs 10 lakh each to the 19 soldiers who were martyred in the skirmishes with the Chinese troops. The amount will be handed over to the bereaved families through the Union Defence Ministry. The chief minister said the state government would extend complete support to the family of Colonel Santosh Babu in future. He felt that the entire nation should stand united and extend support to the families of the soldiers who were guarding the borders.
“We must display the Symbol of Unity and send a strong signal that the nation is with them and their families. Our actions will instill confidence among the armed forces personnel and their families,” he said.
The Chief Minister said while the Central government will provide necessary support to the families of the martyrs, the states too should take responsibility and join hands to extend support.
He emphasised the need for the States to provide monetary and other support to the bereaved families by reducing their expenditures even during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Chinese Army used iron rods studded with nails to attack Indian Army soldiers hence proving that the assault was premeditated. A photograph of the improvised weapon is going viral on social media where multiple nail-studded iron rods can be seen. This image further shows that there was no intention on the part of the Chinese to retreat and de-escalate the situation.
At least 20 soldiers lost their lives in clash with the Chinese forces. Tensions on the Indo-China border have spiked to the highest since 1962 after over 20 troops, including an Indian commanding officer, were KIA in the face-off in Galwan valley that has seen a six-week-long standoff underway with the People’s Liberation Army
List of all the 20 Soldier’s KIA in Ladakh Sector :
On 16th June 2020, Colonel B Santosh Babu along with 20 other soldiers made supreme sacrifice for the nation, the Commanding Officer Colonel B Santosh Babu of the Indian Army’s 16 Bihar regiment lost his life during violent unarmed combat between Indian and Chinese army at Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh, he had taken over his battalion only in December last year. Here are some motivational facts about Col Santosh Babu that will inspire the generations to come.
1. After the primary schooling in Suryapet, Telangana, Col. Santosh took admission in Sainik School, Korkukonda, under Union Ministry of Defence in Vizianagaram district in Andhra Pradesh, where he studied up to Class 12. Later, he joined the graduation course in National Defence Academy in Pune belonged to the 105 “November” squadron and then the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun. In 2004, he was commissioned into the 16 Bihar regiment and his first posting was in Jammu. Since then, he had been working on the borders in various locations.
2. Col Babu went on to pursue training at the Defence Services Staff College, where officers head to attain higher command positions. He also had a tenure with the Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir and was part of the Indian contingent of the UN peacekeeping forces in Congo.
3. He had nurtured an ambition since childhood to join the armed forces. “In fact, I wanted to join the Army in my student days, but somehow, the family circumstances did not permit me. I realised my dreams through my son,” Col Babu’ father.
4. Col Babu’s friends know him as a friend, motivator and a guide. “Anyone could reach out to him with their problems and described Babu as composed and meticulous, traits that his juniors imbibed” said a fellow officer.
5. Col Babu was waiting since Monday morning to ensure that the Chinese PLA troops fell back according to the disengagement plan decided during the high-level military talks. During the de-escalation talks, he led his men from the front and was the first one to take the hit.
6. Col Santosh’s last words to his family were “You should not ask me that,” he had told his worried parents when they enquired for details about the border skirmishes during a brief call on June 14. “I am not supposed to tell you anything. We can talk when I am back with you.”
Col Santosh Babu is survived by wife Santoshi and two kids, a daughter and a son. We salute to the supreme sacrifice of Col Babu, it will motivate the generations to come.
The govt sources have confirmed that more than 20+ Indian Army soldiers have lost their lives in Galway Vally clash with the Chinese troops. Casualty numbers could rise Indian intercepts reveal that Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including dead and seriously injured in face-off in the Galwan valley. Increase in Chinese chopper activity observed across the LAC to airlift casualties suffered by them during face-off with Indian troops in Galwan valley
