India-China border face-off: Colonel Santosh Babu's last phone conversation with mother

Colonel Santosh Babu, the army officer who lost his life in a fierce skirmish with China in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley few days before, had a word with his mother over the phone on Sunday.

Speaking to ANI, Colonel’s parents stated that it took them some time to cope with reality after they were informed about their son’s demise. “At first, we didn’t believe it but later higher authorities told us what had happened. Our son faced many challenges,” B Upender, the officer’s father, told ANI.

“I could not join the army and serve my country. So I wanted my son to join the defence forces and serve our country though my relatives discouraged the idea,” he added.

According to NDTV, during a phone call with his mother on Sunday, the officer appeared to be perturbed about the Galwan Valley face-off. But, he refused to tell details citing the sensitivity of the issue. His father asked him to be cautious.

“I am both sad and proud. My son has laid down his life for the country. As a mother I am sad. He was my only son,” mother Manjula asserted.

Colonel Santosh Babu, who had been deployed in Ladakh since the last 18 months, had studied in Hyderabad’s Sainik School and was an alumnus of Pune’s National Defence Academy (NDA) and the Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun.

Resident of Telangana’s Suryapet. The Commanding Officer of the 16 Bihar Regiment, Colonel Santosh Babu was martyred during the sudden Chinese provocation, along with Havaldar Palani and Sepoy Kundan Ojha, who hailed from Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand respectively.

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