Major Pankaj Pandey Gets Martyred While Saving Fellow Soldier

Major Pankaj Pandey, who fell into the ditch while trying to save his companion, died in a Guwahati hospital late on Thursday night. The news of Major’s death caused a wave of mourning in his home and district. On Saturday, the Major was cremated with military honors in Lekhapani, Assam.

Pankaj Pandey, the eldest son of businessman Awadhesh Pandey, a resident of Maholiya Shivpar, adjacent to the city of Hardoi, was a Major in the army. At present, his posting was in Tambola, Arunachal Pradesh. Family members said that Pankaj was reported to have suffered serious injuries in the accident on the afternoon of July 19, after which father Avdhesh Pandey reached Guwahati Hospital with his younger son Ashish.

There, officers of Pankaj’s Regiment B Sikh told that on the morning of July 19, while on duty at an altitude of about 15 thousand feet, one of his companions was falling in the ditch, in an attempt to save Major Pankaj laid down his life. But in this effort, Pankaj also fell into the ditch along with his partner.

After much effort, both were pulled out. Pankaj suffered head and neck injuries, both were admitted to a hospital in Guwahati for treatment. It was told that the fellow is out of danger here, but Pankaj died. According to brother Amrish Pandey, Pankaj’s body was cremated with military honors at his military unit, Assam Lekhapani, and shown to the family members through video conferencing.

Pankaj’s early education was initiated in Maholi, Sitapur. After this, he got selected in CDS in the year 2008. Training took place in Dehradun, then he was posted in Himachal and Assam. Pankaj was married to Kanchan only 5 years ago. They also have a one and a half year old daughter Aru. The news of his death has caused a wave of mourning in his family and in the district.