Subedar Major Fateh Singh, Lt Col Niranjan and 4 martyred at Pathankot siege

This one is an ancient city,  has historical significance.  From the end of the 17^th  century, this region was the part of the princely state – Nurpur and was ruled by the Rajputs.   It is  Pathankot, a district of Punjab, located in the north zone of the state.  Pathankot city is the district headquarters. The district was created in 2011. Pathania is the name of the branch of the Tomara Clan of Chandravanshi, Rajputs, who claim a mythological descent from Arjuna, the hero of Mahabharata.  Pathankot is at the meeting point of the three northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir  ~ it in news for wrong reasons !

I can remember that first match of inaugural WC called Prudential World Cup in 1975 – 60 overs a side.  After recording the first 300 + score aided by Dennis Amiss and a fast 50 off only 30 balls by Chris Old – India chasing 335 made a paltry 132/3.   Many of my friends would remember that match for that forgettable innings of Sunil Gavaskar – honestly, me and most of my friends would not know when the 1^st Commonwealth Shooting games were held and naturally would not have read of its winners and achievers !

Pathankot is under siege.  All newspapers today reported in its 1^st page of the 4 militants killed.  One of the four infiltrators killed in the operation was shot dead as he was climbing over the 10 ft high concrete wall of the air base. The wall is topped by concertina wire.  Some journalists even reported that only sketchy details were made available unlike the Mumbai Siege when they were at all places, showing live all the movements of Commandos and making the entire operation vulnerable.  Sadly, it is not yet over, one more terrorist has been neutralized at the air force base in Pathankot, a few hours ago  reports Press. It is suspected that at least one more terrorist could be alive – as fresh reports suggest that  gunshots and explosions were heard from within the compound. Four terrorists were killed yesterday after a day-long gun-battle.

The Commonwealth of Nations, (formerly the British Commonwealth), is an inter-governmental organisation of 53 member states that were mostly territories of the former British Empire. The Commonwealth dates back to the mid-20th century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which established the member states as "free and equal". The Commonwealth Shooting Championships is a shooting championships for Commonwealth countries, first held in New Delhi in 1995; then in Malaysia, Auckland, Bisley and in Delhi again in 2010.

Subedar Major Fateh Singh, the 51-year-old Armyman who died fighting terrorists in the attack on the Pathankot airbase Saturday, was an international shooter who had won medals in the 1990s, reports Indian Express and many other newssites.  

Long before the likes of Anjali Bhagwat and Suma Shirur stepped into the limelight, Fateh Singh won medals in the big bore events in the mid-1990s and was a senior member of the Indian shooting team. He retired as a Subedar Major from the Dogra regiment in 2009 and joined the Defence Service Corps and was initially posted at the Army War College in Mhow. He was posted to Pathankot two years ago.

Singh won gold in the Big Bore Rifle Three Position event and silver medal in the Big Rifle Prone Position in the Commonwealth Shooting Championship at the Army shooting ranges in New Delhi in 1995. “Fateh Singh was one of the senior shooters when I started shooting in the 1990s. And he won medals at the international level regularly. 1995 was my debut year in shooting when he won the medals in the Commonwealth Shooting Championship in Delhi and I remember meeting him at that time. It’s a sad moment for his family and all shooters. We will remember him as a helping and respectable senior,” Suma Shirur, the 2002 Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medalist shooter, told The Indian Express.

photo from twitter 0f Lt Col Nirajnan

Sadly, he is no more – martyred saving the Nation.  Another affable Senior officer of the National Security Guard (NSG) Lt Col Niranjan  was  today killed in an accidental explosion during combing operations at Pathankot air base pushing the number of casualties among security forces to seven. Defence ministry officials said that it was an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) which went off during combing operations in the morning which killed Lt Col Niranjan and likely injuring few others.

The six military men include one Garud commando and five soldiers from the Defence Security Corps (DSC) while one Garud commando and eight DSC personnel were injured. Pray for the souls of the departed and hope that the complex is flushed out soon.

Salute our armed Forces … Jai Hind

With regards- S. Sampathkumar

3^rd Jan 2016 @16.04 hrs.