Army jawan from Agra martyred in IED blast near LoC

AGRA: In a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) blast along the Line of Control (LoC) in Pallanwalla area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Akhnoor on Sunday, Havildar Santosh Kumar from Agra was martyred and two other jawans were injured.
Santosh Kumar, who hailed from Pura Bhadauria village under Kherarathur police jurisdiction, is survived by three children, including two daughters.
Speaking to TOI, Dinesh Singh, elder brother of Santosh Kumar said, “At around 4pm, we received a call from military person sharing information about Santosh’s death.It’s yet not known, as when his mortal remains would arrive in village.”
Youngest among three siblings, Santosh (39) joined army in 1997 and was part of 4 Rajasthan Rifle contingent posted in Kashmir for a long time.
His wife Vimla and three children Deeksha (17), Pratiksha (12) and son Abhay Pratap Singh (12), live in Agra cantonment area near Ekta police outpost.
"I spoke to Santosh the day before yesterday. He seemed happy and was asking about crop and farm field. He came to Agra in October to attend wedding ceremony of a friend. For nearly a decade, was posted in conflict-affected J&K,” said Dinesh Singh.
Santosh was only the second person in his family after his uncle Jai Singh to join the defence forces.
According to army sources, Santosh was part of a contingent moving in an army truck towards forward post. After the blast, the victims were taken to a military hospital in Udhampur where Santosh succumbed to his injuries.