Bust of Galwan martyr Colonel Santosh Babu installed in Telangana's Suryapet

Honouring the Braveheart Colonel Santosh Babu who was martyred in the June 15 Galwan clash, a bust of his has been installed in his hometown in Telangana's Suryapet on Friday. The two-and-a-half feet bust was ordered by the Colonel's friends from sculptors in West Godavari district in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh. A month later, a bronze statue will also be installed and a crossroads in Suryapet is likely to be renamed as Colonel Santosh Marg.

Earlier on June 20, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 crore for his family. KCR had also announced that his government will offer Rs 10 lakh solatium each to the families of 19 other Army personnel who were martyred alongside Colonel Babu. The amount will be handed over to the Defence Ministry. "The state government will give Rs 5 crore cash to the family, besides a residential plot, and Group-1 job to his wife. The chief minister also announced that he himself would personally go to the Santosh Kumar’s house and hand over the help," stated a release from the Telangana government. 

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Here is the image of the bust:

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Galwan clash

20 Indian Army soldiers including a Colonel were martyred when a violent faceoff took place last Monday night while the de-escalation process was underway in the Galwan Valley. 76 others suffered injuries in the clash, in which hundreds of soldiers from both sides are said to have engaged.

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About Braveheart Colonel Santosh Babu

Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu, who hails from Suryapet town, was the commanding officer of the 16th battalion of Bihar Regiment. He and his team were due for Hyderabad posting in February but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising tensions with China, the battalion's posting was postponed.

Colonel Babu is an alumnus of Sainik School, Korukonda, and National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla. He was commissioned into the Bihar Regiment from Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and later went on to complete the prestigious Defence Service Staff Course from Wellington before taking over the command of his battalion.

Colonel Babu was given a fitting funeral with full military honours on Thursday in his hometown. The braveheart's mortal remains were draped in tricolour. 

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