This is one phone call that Rajeshwari Devi, wife of Havaldar Rajendra Singh Negi will never forget. On 8th of January, she received a call from her husband’s unit stationed in Gulmarg, Kashmir. The call informed Rajeshwari that her husband Rajendra, while on duty had slipped in the snow and could have possibly fallen on the Pakistan side, and was since missing.
In between sobs and sighs Bhaaga Devi, Rajendra’s mother tells us, “He came home for a month in October to spend time with the family. He returned to the forward post in November.”
Since then, every call that the Negi family now receives brings a sense of fear and anxiety as the family awaits news of Rajendra’s whereabouts and his return home.
The news turned the family’s perfect world upside down. Rajeshwari Devi and her three minor children are inconsolable as family and neighbours visit their home to give them solace.
Originally from Adibadri in Garhwal region, Rajendra joined the 11 Garhwal Rifles in the year 2002. Rajendra’s brother Kundan tells us, “I want the central government to put pressure on Pakistan to save my brother just like they did in Wing Commander Abhinandan’s case.”
Earlier in the day, Mussoorie MLA Ganesh Joshi visited the soldier’s house. After collecting detailed information about the jawan, the MLA talked to the the Chief of Defence Staff General Vipin Rawat over the phone. Talking to Newspost, the MLA said, “The CDS knew about the case and told me that inclement weather in the region was obstructing search and rescue work. But also assured us that the Indian Army was leaving no stones unturned and doing their very best to bring back one of their own.”
