Colonel Bikumalla Santosh Babu, who led his troops against a ‘vicious’ Chinese attack in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June last year, has been posthumously named for India’s second-highest military award, Mahavir Chakra, for his acts of gallantry. Twenty Indian Army personnel laid down their lives in the fierce hand-to-hand combat on June 15 in Galwan Valley, an incident that marked the most serious military conflict between India and China in decades.
Four other soldiers — Naib Subedar Nuduram Soren, Havildar (Gunner) K Palani, Naik Deepak Singh and Sepoy Gurtej Singh, who also lost their lives in the Galwan Valley clash have been named for Vir Chakra awards posthumously. Havildar Tejinder Singh from the 3 Medium Regiment, who was a member of the Indian Army team at the Galwan Valley clash, has also been named for Vir Chakra award.
An official release said that Col Santosh Babu has been awarded the Mahavir Chakra for displaying “exemplary leadership, astute professionalism and supreme sacrifice” in the line of duty.
"Despite being grievously injured, Colonel Babu led from the front with absolute command and control, despite hostile conditions, to deter the vicious enemy attack at his position," the official note added.
Colonel Santhosh Babu is survived by his wife Santoshi, nine-year-old daughter Abhigna and four-year-old son Anirudh. Santosh, Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar Regiment, had been serving on Indo-China border for the last one-and-half years and his family was looking forward to his transfer to Hyderabad.
An alumni of Sainik School Korukonda and National Defence Academy, he got commissioned into the Bihar Regiment from Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and went on to complete the prestigious Defence Service Staff Course from Wellington before taking over the command of his Battalion.
After the death of Col Santhosh Babu, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had visited his house and handed over a financial package announced by the state government. He handed over Rs 4 crore to the Colonel's wife Santoshi and Rs 1 crore to his parents, who requested him to deposit the amount for their granddaughter.
He also handed over a letter of her appointment to Santoshi for a Group-1 job and documents of allotment of a house site in Hyderabad’s Banjara Hills. In November last year, the Telangana government appointed Santoshi as a trainee Collector.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army has already built a memorial for the 'Gallants of Galwan' at Post 120 in eastern Ladakh. The memorial mentioned their heroics under operation 'Snow Leopard' and the way they evicted the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops from the area while inflicting ‘heavy casualties’ on them.
(With inputs from IANS and PTI)