Galwan Valley clash: Body of fallen soldier reaches home in Bengal

KOLKATA: Hundreds of people gathered at the residence of Sepoy Rajesh Orang to pay their last respects to the soldier after his mortal remains reached his Belgoria village in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Friday morning.

Orang was among the 20 Indian soldiers and one of the two from West Bengal to have been killed in a clash with Chinese troops in Galwan Valley of Ladakh on June 15.

The Army cortege arrived from the Panagarh military hospital, where the body of Sepoy Orang was kept for the night after a military aircraft brought it from Leh via Chandigarh on Thursday evening, an Army spokesperson said.


Army personnel carried the coffin to Orang's home, where his family members broke down on seeing him returning, not on a holiday but, draped in the Tricolour.

Residents of the village called for a total boycott of Chinese products, expressing their anger at the Chinese troops for their brutal attack on the Indian soldiers.

Orang is survived by his parents and two sisters.

His mortal remains will be cremated with full military honours at a place near the village after people pay their tributes to the fallen hero.

The body of another slain soldier from the state, Havildar Bipul Roy, will be taken to his Bindipara village in Alipurduar district later in the day. It was kept in Hasimara military hospital for the night after being flown from Leh on Thursday evening.