Oldest of three siblings, Rajesh Orang, joined the Army in 2015 but the soldier died of injuries suffered in hand-to-hand combat with the Chinese army at Galwan Valley in Ladakh region, his father Subhas was informed.
"My son served the country and gave his life for it," was all Subhas could say on Wednesday morning as he grieved his son's death.
Rajesh's mother Mamata was speechless. She was hoping to get him married when he came back on a holiday next.
Subhas said Rajesh, elder to two sisters, had joined the Army in 2015 after passing the higher secondary examination and belonged to the Bihar Regiment.
He said that he was informed by the Army authorities on Tuesday evening about the death of Rajesh, who was in his early 20s.
"From his childhood, my brother wanted to serve the country and was happy to be in the Army," his youngest sister Shakuntala said.
"He came home on leave a few months back and talks were on for his marriage," she said.
Subhas, a marginal farmer in Belgharia village in Mohammad Bazar police station area in Birbhum district, raised his children amid poverty.
Rajesh was among the 20 Indian Army personnel killed in the fierce clash with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley on Monday night, the biggest military confrontation in over five decades that has significantly escalated the already volatile border standoff in the region.
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