The body of an Indian army jawan was found inside an old bunker in Siachen on Sunday, 38 years after he went missing in an avalanche while on patrol.
The deceased jawan was identified by the Sainik Group Centre in Ranikhet as Chandrashekhar Harbola of the 19 Kumaon Regiment.
According to reports, Harbola was part of a 20-member troop deployed for ‘Operation Meghdoot’ at the highest battlefield in the world against Pakistan in 1984.
During a patrol, the group was caught in an ice storm. The bodies of 15 soldiers had been recovered, however, the remaining five could not be located and Harbola was one of them.
His body is expected to reach his wife Shanti Devi today, who resides in Saraswati Vihar Colony in Haldwani.
The sub-collector of Haldwani, Manish Kumar and Tehsildar Sanjay Kumar reached Harbola’s residence. They announced that his last rites will be performed with full military honours.
Harbola’s wife Devi said that at the time of the incident, they had been married for nine years and she was 28. Their elder daughter was four years old at that time, while the younger daughter was one-and-a-half-years old.
She mentioned that Harbola had last come home in January 1984, promising to return soon. She gleamed with pride that her husband honoured his service towards the nation over promises made to the family.
Harbola, a resident of Dwarahat in Almora, had enlisted in the Indian army in 1975.
Meanwhile, the body of another soldier was reportedly found but his identity has not been established as of yet.
