The Telangana government has appointed Santoshi, wife of Colonel Santosh Babu who died in the recent clashes along the Indo-China border, as a deputy collector.
Colonel Santosh Kumar, the commanding officer of the 16 Bihar Regiment, was killed in the deadly clashes between Indian and Chinese forces in Galwan Valley in Ladakh on 15 June. Nineteen other soldiers also died in the incident.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao handed over the appointment letter to Santoshi at Pragathi Bhavan on Wednesday, 22 July. He has also instructed the concerned officials to post her in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas.
The CM also asked his Secretary, Smita Sabharwal, to be with Santoshi until she gets the proper training and settles down in her job. At their residence, KCR paid floral tributes to Colonel Santosh’s portrait and also assured the family that the state government would stand with them at all times.
The CM also had lunch with 20 family members who had accompanied Santoshi to Pragathi Bhavan.
Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP M Mahender Reddy and Chief Advisor Sri Rajiv Sharma were also present along with Telangana ministers Jagdeesh Reddy, Prashanth Reddy and Niranjan Reddy.
KCR had earlier met Santosh Babu’s family on 22 June at their residence in Suryapet. He had handed over a cheque of Rs 4 crore to Santoshi and another Rs 1 crore to his parents. A plot of 711 square yards, in Banjara Hills, was also allocated to the family. It was during this visit that the CM had promised a group-1 job to Santoshi.
(This story was first published in The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)
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