Bhubaneswar: Two soldiers from Odisha were among the 20 soldiers who were killed Monday night in the violent clashes with Chinese forces in Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh Monday night, sources said Wednesday.
The two soldiers have been identified as Chandrakanta Pradhan from Biarpanga in Kandhamal district and Nanduram Soren from Rairangpur of Mayurbhanj district.
“We were informed about the martyrdom of our son by Subedar DC Pradhan and the news has devastated us,” informed Pradhan’s father.
Sources said that the clashes were triggered by an argument over the position of Chinese soldiers who were erecting a new post on the southern bank of Galwan river in a ‘buffer zone’ – a no-man’s land.
In the fight, some soldiers either fell or were pushed into the river, officers said. Some bodies were recovered from the river while others had signs of being brutalised.
A few soldiers died of hypothermia. While the Army said there were casualties on both sides, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) did not comment on its losses.
“Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area where they had earlier clashed on the night of 15/16 June 2020. 17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the standoff location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries, taking the total that were killed in action to 20. Indian Army is firmly committed to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation,” the Army said in a statement.
PNN
