Eldest of three siblings, Rajesh Orang joined the Indian Army in 2015 but the soldier died of injuries suffered in a hand-to-hand combat with the Chinese army at Galwan Valley in Ladakh region.
"My son served the country and gave his life for it," Subhas, father of Rajesh, said on Wednesday morning as he grieved his son's death.
Rajesh's mother Mamata was in shock. She was hoping to get him married when he returned home for vacations next time.
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.
Advertisement
He said that he was informed by the Army 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 Belgoria village in Mohammedbazar 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.
