Amritsar man dies fighting for Russian army, family comes to know of it months later

Tribune News Service

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, June 12

A pall of gloom descended on the house of Tejpal Singh when his family learnt that he had been killed in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war on March 12.

The family came to know of this only a couple of days ago.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday said two Indians were killed in the Russia-Ukraine war. Though it did not disclose the names of the Indians but it is believed that Tejpal was one of them.

Tejpal’s house is located in Palam Vihar on Majitha Road on the outskirts of Amritsar. When The Tribune team visited the family, they were inconsolable.

His parents, Preetpal Singh and Sarabjit Kaur, run a grocery shop in the locality. Of the two brothers Tejpal was the elder. His younger brother had earlier died following medical complications.

Tejpal leaves behind wife Parminder Kaur, whom he married in 2017, a six-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.

Parminder said, "Tejpal wanted to join the army since childhood. After several attempts he could not make it to the Army or paramilitary forces. So he decided to go abroad. He went to Russia on a tourist visa and landed there on January 12. He got recruited to the Russian army on January 16. After getting training he was deployed at the border with Ukraine. There he was killed on March 12."

She said his last phone call was received on March 3 in which he had said that he would not be in a position to speak to them for the next few days as he was going to war.

When they did not hear from him for quite some time, they managed to get the number of the army head office, only to be told that the war had claimed Tejpal.

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