Last rites of martyred soldier performed at Hingalgunj

KOLKATA: The last rites of Sepoy Joyjit Ghosh, 32, were performed with full military honours at Hingalgunj in North 24-Parganas on Friday. Ghosh was among three security personnel killed in an ambush by terrorists on a military convoy at Khojabagh in Baramulla early on Wednesday.
The two others martyred in the ambush were Sepoy NK Shakti and Pritpal Singh, a constable of the Jammu & Kashmir Police.
On Thursday, corps commander Lt Gen Satish Dua paid homage to Sepoy Ghosh and Sepoy Shakti at the Badami Bag Cantonment in Srinagar. Ghosh’s mortal remains were then brought to Barrackpore Cantonment from where it was taken to Hingalgunj on Friday morning.
Ghosh, who joined the Army when he was 20, was a talented footballer and played for the Army Service Corps (Central) team. He is survived by his wife Priyanka and newborn daughter Diya.
According to a relative, the youth from the village on the India-Bangladesh border was a good sportsman and had always dreamed of joining the Army. “It is a difficult life for us in this region and there is a lot of frustration among the youth as there aren’t job opportunities. Ghosh was an inspiration for them. After joining the Army, not only did he serve the country but also provided a better life to his family,” he said.
Ghosh was in a convoy moving at night from Baramulla to Uri. Even as it was leaving the town around 2.30am on Wednesday, terrorists attacked the vehicles from a narrow lane. The gunbattle continued for nearly 20 minutes. Though search operations were carried out by the police, the terrorists could not be traced. This was the first attack on an Army convoy since Burhan Wani’s death.
While Ghosh was from West Bengal, Shakti was from Chatra in Jharkhand. Homage was also paid to Singh by senior officials including Uttam Chand, DIG, North Kashmir, on Wednesday evening. Shakti, 29, was a very good hockey player and is survived by wife Khushboo and a six-year-old son.
Pritpal Singh is survived by his wife, 70-year-old mother, 19-year-old daughter and 25-year-old son.