Four stands named after army men unveiled at Eden

KOLKATA: Four Indian soldiers who laid down their lives for the motherland were honoured by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) by naming Eden Gardens stands after them ahead of an Indian Premier League ( IPL) game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils on Friday.

The stands were unveiled by CAB President Sourav Ganguly, Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi, General Officer Commanding-in-chief Eastern Army Command and other military and CAB dignitaries.

One of the stands was named after Colonel N.J. Nair who was ambushed by around a 100 armed insurgents while negotiating a series of road bends on the Mokokchung-Mariani Road in Nagaland in 1993.

He was awarded the Ashok Chakra and Kirti Chakra posthumously. Lieutenant General Praveen Bakshi unveiled the stand.

Ganguly unveiled the stand named after Havildar Hangpan Dada, who encountered terrorists in Naugam in Jammu and Kashmir in 2016. He was awarded the Ashok Chakra posthumously.

Two other stands were named after Subedar Joginder Singh and Lieutenant Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa.

Subedar Singh, who refused to evacuate despite being injured and held on to a defensive position in NEFA in 1962, was awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously.

His name was unveiled by Chief of Staff, Headquarters Eastern Army command Lieutenant General Dushyant Singh and CAB joint secretary Subir Ganguly.

Lt. Colonel Thapa repulsed three Chinese attacks in Ladakh in 1962 before being captured. He was awarded the highest wartime gallantry medal Param Vir Chakra. His name was unveiled by General Officer Commanding, Bengal Area, Lieutenant General Giriraj Singh and CAB joint secretary Avishek Dalmiya.