Final farewell to a braveheart

NEW DELHI: When Priti learned about her husband Colonel Neeraj Sood’s death in an encounter with militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Tuesday, she displayed no emotion. Her family members pleaded with her to cry, but she showed a stoic resignation to her fate and went about arranging her husband’s cremation. But on Thursday, when Col Sood was cremated with full military honours in Delhi, the reality sank in.
When an officer asked whether Priti would like to place a wreath on her husband’s body, she begged everyone to let her hug him for one last time.Her family members prevented her from doing so, but the tri-colour was partially lifted for her to see her husband’s face. Gently, she caressed his face and touched his feet. She then clutched the national flag that draped her husband’s body close to her heart and cried.
‘‘I can’t let him go, I don’t want anything else. Just get him back for me. He said he’ll come back,” is what she kept saying as tears rolled down her cheeks. Their daughter, 11-year-old Mishika, sobbed silently close by.
The 39-year-old commanding officer of 18 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) was killed after he was shot in the head while carrying out counter-insurgency operations. ‘‘He was a dare-devil but kept a cool mind. He believed in leading from the front. We had many memorable moments together. He always outplayed us at sports,” said Lt Col Shailender Singh and Lt Col Uttam Dixit, who were his batchmates in NDA and IMA and had known him for 22 years.
Many retired and senior officers too came to pay their last tributes.” I was his instructor in NDA when he was a cadet in hunter squadron. He was full of life and excelled at sports,” said Col Rajneesh Handa.
A few of his friends from Ferozepur attended the cremation. ‘‘Yaar tha hamara, yaar chorh ke chala gaya. We became friends when he was posted in Ferozepur. I spoke to him on Saturday and told him we are planning to come to Srinagar for a vacation. He was very happy to hear that,’’ said Nitin Gupta, trying hard to control his tears.
joel.joseph@timesgroup.com