Satara (Maharashtra): The nation bid a tearful adieu to one of its bravehearts Colonel Santosh Mahadik, who laid his life in the service of the nation.
His last rites were performed with full military honours at his native Pogarwadi village in Maharashtra’s Satara District on Thursday. he was martyred on Tuesday in a fierce gun battle with the terrorists in North Kashmir,
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar paid his tributes to the 38-year-old martyred officer, who is survived by his wife and two children.
Several politicians and retired army personnel also attended the last rites.
Colonel Mahadik, the commanding officer of 41 Rashtriya Rifles, was killed in a counter-infiltration operation in the Manigah forest of Kupwara.
An officer from the elite 21 Para-Special Forces unit, Colonel Mahadik was awarded a Sena Medal for gallantry during Operation Rhino in the North-East in 2003.
Colonel Mahadik, who had conducted many successful counter-terrorist operations, was commissioned in the Indian Army in 1998.
(with inputs from ANI)