When the country paid tributes and mourned the deaths of 44 CRPF paramilitary troopers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district, 4 other soldiers were killed during an 18-hour gunfight in the same district less than 48 hours.
The secret operation, as per the information from Army officials, neutralised top leadership of the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed in the valley after 3 terrorists were gunned down.
The wife of Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal, among the brave soldiers martyred during the Pulwama gunfight, gave a heartfelt message to her husband, in what was an emotional clip. The wife standing right in front of her husband’s coffin was heard saying, “You said you loved me, but the fact is you loved the nation more.”
Nikita Kaul, who tied the nuptial know with 34-year-old Army Major from Dehradun just a year ago, explained that her love story was a ‘simple and sweet’ one. “I spoke to him just before he took that bus,” Nikita who works in Delhi was heard saying before the funeral.
Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal was one among the 4 brave soldiers Sepoy Hari Singh, 27, Havaldar Sheo Ram, 37, and Sepoy Ajay Kumar, 27, who drew his last breath. It has been said that Major Shankar was supposed to visit home in April for the couple’s first-year wedding anniversary but that wasn’t meant to be.
Facing the coffin wrapped in the tri-colour flag, Nikita Kaul asked people to be strong rather than to feel. “I am really proud. We all love you. The way you love everyone is entirely different because you sacrificed your life for the people who you may have never met, but still you decided to give your life for them. You are such a brave man. I am very honoured to have you as my husband. I’ll love you till my last breath. I owe my life to you,” she said, holding back tears.
Around thousands of people gathered in Dehradun to pay tributes to Major Dhoundiyal amid chants of “Vande Mataram and Shaheed Dhoundiyal Amar Rahein”.
Last but not least, Nikita Kaul blew a kiss as she ended her farewell message. “I love you, Vibhu. Let us salute this man here, Jai Hind,” she said.
