Funerals of Colonel Manpreet Singh, Major Ashish Dhonchak killed in Anantnag today

PANIPAT: Bharonjian village in Mohali's Mullanpur grieved for its son, Colonel Manpreet Singh, 41, who died in an encounter with terrorists in J&K's Anantnag on Wednesday. His cremation will take place with full military honours on Friday. As will that of Major Ashish Dhonchak. The major's body is scheduled to arrive in Panipat around 7.30am Friday after being flown to the Ambala air base and the cremation will be held in his native village Bhinjol, local SDM Mandeep Singh said.


Major Aashish Dhonchak had promised mother Kamla he would attend a house-warming at their new home on October 23, coinciding with his birthday. He was killed in Wednesday's Anantnag encounter, but Kamla will "hug" him nevertheless.

"He brought honour to his family and the country. I will hug him and pat his back for his service to the motherland. He has proven that he belongs to this nation," Kamla said, her eyes welling up, from their home in Haryana's Panipat Thursday. The funeral is slated for Friday.

Major Dhonchak, 36, was killed alongside his 19 Rashtriya Rifles commanding officer, Colonel Manpreet Singh, and J&K DSP Humayun Bhat.

Major Dhonchak is survived by his parents, wife Jyoti and their two-year-old daughter Vamini. The soldier got married in 2015. He had last come home -- a rented accommodation in Panipat's Sector 7 -- in May for 10 days.

Mother Kamala is a homemaker while his father Lalchand retired from PSU National Fertilisers Ltd. Major Dhonchak is also survived by sisters Anju, Suman and Mamta.

Major Dhonchak's uncle Mahavir recalled their last conversation on phone three days ago. "Aashish was excited about the grand celebration on October 23. The family was also eagerly looking forward to the day. But his untimely death has shattered us all," Mahavir said.

Suresh Duhan, Major Dhonchak's brother-in-law, said they had initially received a call from the Army headquarters that he was among the injured officers. "It was through the media that we learnt about Aashish's death," Suresh said.

According to Suresh, Major Dhonchak had joined the army in 2012 and was sent to Kashmir from UP's Meerut two years ago. "Aashish told us his team was engaged in an operation (in Anantnag) and reassured us that it was being executed successfully," Suresh said.

Panipat City BJP MLA Parmod Vij met the family, who called upon the government to take "decisive action to eliminate terrorism once and for all".

Cremation in Panipat today

Major Dhonchak's body is scheduled to arrive in Panipat around 7.30am Friday after being flown to the Ambala air base and the cremation will be held in his native village Bhinjol, local SDM Mandeep Singh said.



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