Chandigarh, September 14 : A considerable number of people gathered on Thursday at the residences of Colonel Manpreet Singh and Major Ashish Dhonchak, who lost their lives in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag. The mourners expressed their condolences and some called for a strong response from the Army against the cowardly act.
In the morning, several villagers visited the homes of Colonel Singh (located in Mullanpur, Mohali) and Major Dhonchak (in Panipat). The families of the two deceased Army officers were overwhelmed with grief. The mortal remains of both officers are expected to arrive at their respective places later in the evening, according to family members.
Officials confirmed that the bodies of the two officers have been brought to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar. Colonel Singh’s wife, a college lecturer, received the devastating news of her husband’s death on Thursday morning, following an earlier communication on Wednesday that he was seriously injured.
Colonel Singh, a third-generation soldier, leaves behind a two-year-old daughter and a six-year-old son. Major Dhonchak is survived by his wife, a two-year-old daughter, and three sisters.
Several individuals who came to express their condolences and stand with the grieving families urged the Army to respond firmly to the terrorists. An elderly man from Dhonchak’s neighborhood in Panipat remarked to reporters, “Everyone knows that Pakistan has waged a proxy war. Our Army should give a befitting reply once and for all, so that no mother has to mourn the loss of her son, no sister loses her brother again in this manner, no wife loses her husband, and no child loses its father.”
While Major Dhonchak’s family resides in Panipat’s Sector 7, his native village is Binjhol in Panipat district. His family mentioned that he was scheduled to come home on leave next month. Colonel Singh’s in-laws reside in Panchkula’s Sector 26 in Haryana. Singh’s wife’s brother conveyed to reporters in Panchkula that they received news of the tragedy on Wednesday evening, but Singh’s wife was only informed about it on Thursday morning.
Jagdev, Singh’s father-in-law, holding his two-year-old granddaughter, shared with reporters that the deceased officer had received the Sena Medal last year. Singh’s uncle remembered him as a leader with a warm smile who was always ready to assist others.
A relative of Major Dhonchak told reporters in Panipat that he sacrificed his life for the country’s sake.
In a tragic encounter in the Kokorenag area of the valley’s higher reaches, three Army personnel, including the colonel and the major, along with a Deputy Superintendent of Police, Humayun Bhat, lost their lives. The gunfight erupted in the Garol area of Anantnag district on Wednesday morning.
Colonel Singh, the commanding officer of 19 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Dhonchak, and Deputy Superintendent of Police Humayun Bhat were critically injured during the encounter and succumbed to their injuries while receiving treatment.
