Hyderabad, July 23, 2020: The wife of Colonel Santosh Babu, who was killed in clashes with the Chinese troops in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley in June, has been appointed a deputy collector.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on July 23 handed over the appointment letter to Santoshi Babu at a lunch attended by senior officers and state ministers.
Collector Shweta Mohanty also handed over documents for a 711 sq yard house site in Hyderabad’s high-end Banjara Hills.
Chief Minister Rao said Santoshi, mother of a four-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter, must be posted only in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas. Chief Minister’s Secretary Smita Sabharwal has been instructed to assist Santoshi until she is properly trained for her new job.
Rao also assured that the government will always stand with Col Babu’s family.
Earlier in June, Rao had appointed Santoshi a Group-I service officer in the state government when he visited the family at their home in Suryapet town, about 130 km from Hyderabad. The state government also gave the family 50 million rupees.
The 39-year old colonel was among 20 soldiers who died for India in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15 during a clash with Chinese troops in the biggest military confrontation between the nations in over five decades.
Santosh Babu was in the 16 Bihar regiment as Commanding Officer. He joined the Army in 2004 and was first posted in Jammu and Kashmir, according to his father.
Source: ndtv.com