On November 2, Army jawan Rada Mahesh told his parents, Raju and Gangamallu, both farmers over the phone that he was going on a patrol with colleagues in a nearby area. That was the last they heard from him.

On Monday, Komanpally, a non-descript village in Nizamabad district of Telangana was shocked to hear that Army jawan Rada Mahesh, a native of the village, was killed in an anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Besides Mahesh, three security force personnel, including an Army officer, and three militants were killed during a failed infiltration bid by ultras along the Line of Control (LoC) in Machil sector of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.

A pall of gloom descended on Mahesh’s residence with relatives and friends offering condolences to the bereaved parents and Suhasini, widow of Mahesh.

Nizamabad District Additional Collector B Chandrashekar told PTI over the phone that the soldier’s mortal remains were expected to reach his native village by Tuesday afternoon.

The district administration is taking all measures by following the orders of the state government in performing the last rites, he said.

Offering condolences to the kin of the slain soldier, K Kavitha, MLC and daughter of Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, said the whole of Telangana would stand by the bereaved family.

A solid tribute to Rada Mahesh of Komanpalli in Nizamabad district, who was martyred for preventing terrorist infiltration. Telangana will stand by the family of 'Veera' jawan, who laid down his life for the country in a heroic struggle," she tweeted.