Kargil Vijay Diwas: SSB takes out cycle rally to promote fitness in Madhubani
Kargil Vijay Diwas
, the 48th Battalion of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Jaynagar, in collaboration with nearby border outposts, took out a grand cycle rally on Sunday under the aegis of 'Fit India Movement' to promote fitness, discipline, and environmental awareness.
The rally was flagged off from the Battalion Headquarters and covered key landmarks, including Jaynagar Railway Station, Shaheed Chowk, Jaynagar Market, Kamla Bridge, and Bypass Highway, before concluding back at the headquarters after reaching Devdha. Over 100 SSB personnel participated with great enthusiasm, showcasing their commitment to fitness and national pride.
During the event, heartfelt tributes were paid to the brave martyrs of the Kargil War, honouring their sacrifice and heroism.
Kargil Vijay Diwas, a symbol of India's courage and determination, was commemorated with deep respect and gratitude.
The event was graced by the presence of key officials, including Shri Harendra Singh, Second-in-Command (Acting Commandant); Shri Vivek Ojha, Deputy Commandant, and Shri Narendra Kumar Singh, Assistant Commandant (Communication).
In his address, Shri Harendra Singh emphasised the significance of the 'Fit India Movement,' stating, "Through this initiative, we not only promote physical fitness but also strengthen the role of a healthy body and mind in nation-building. The cycle rally symbolizes environmental conservation, physical fitness, and discipline."
Aligned with the theme of "Healthy India, Empowered India," the rally aimed to inspire the public to embrace health, discipline, and environmental consciousness.
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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
Ahmedabad's Kargil War memory lives on as a fuel station becomes a landmark
Mukesh Rathod was just 19 when he joined the Army. Having risen from a soldier to a section commander in the 12 Mahar Regiment, he met his end in the 1999 Kargil War. Now a landmark in the Thaltej area of Ahmedabad city, Rathod's hometown, is the Kargil Petrol Pump, allotted to his family after his death and run by his son, Mrugesh. Originally from Shahpur village in Junagadh district in Gujarat's Saurashtra region, Rathod was the third of four brothers; Paresh and Shailesh being his elder ones and Dinesh the youngest. The family has settled in Ahmedabad. Speaking to The Indian Express, Dinesh said that earlier his family used to stay in the Meghaninagar area of Ahmedabad, which was close to the cantonment area. 'After clearing Class 12, Mukesh started preparing for recruitment in the armed forces. After failing three times, he cleared the exam on his fourth attempt. He joined the 12 Mahar Regiment, and before the final posting in Jammu and Kashmir, he was posted in Madhya Pradesh, Assam, and Punjab.' According to Dinesh, Rathod's body was found 22 days after he went missing in Jammu and Kashmir. And then Ahmedabad MP Harin Pathak helped the family in tracing his body and bringing it back. When Rathod was killed, his wife Rajeshriben was pregnant with Mrugesh. 'His body was cremated in Srinagar as it was not in a condition to be transported to Ahmedabad. And later his ashes were brought to Ahmedabad by senior BJP leader and Gandhinagar MP L K Advani and an Army officer, Colonel Ranjit Singh,' said his elder brother Shailesh. Dinesh said, 'Initially, we were not ready to take the petrol pump offered by the government. But Harin Pathak and local BJP leaders from Naroda convinced us to accept it. And eventually, the pump was allotted to us by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited in 2000.' Pathak, who is also a former Union minister, said, 'At that time, I received a postcard from Mukesh's mother (Samjuben) that her son had gone missing in the war and there was no trace of him. I immediately visited the family and then also met the officials of the defence ministry and some generals of the Army over the issue.' 'I convinced them to accept it while telling them that the Government was not doing any favour to them by allocating the fuel station,' Pathak told The Indian Express. Land allotted by Gujarat Government Recollecting those days, Dinesh said that the plot of land for the fuel station had been allotted by the Gujarat Government on a 30-year lease at the current location where it is situated. 'The land for the plot was allotted by then Ahmedabad collector K Srinivas. I assume that the collector knew this plot of land was going to be a prime location, and therefore, he suggested it for the pump. And eventually, we started the pump in 2001. We had zero knowledge of running a fuel station. And the officials of BPCL had trained us for a few weeks on how to run it and issues to be careful about,' Dinesh said. 'Today, our fuel station is a landmark reference point. Although it is next to the Gujarat High Court, most rickshaw and cab drivers cite the Kargil Petrol Pump as a reference point. It is that popular,' he said. According to Dinesh, the Kargil War was mentioned in all formal events back in the day. So when BPCL officials asked the family to find a name for the pump, they decided to name it after the 1999 India-Pakistan war. According to Dinesh, since the family did not have any experience running a fuel station, it was decided to ensure that one member is present at the pump 24X7. Today, Mukesh's three brothers, his son Mrugesh, and nephews are running the fuel station. The family lives in the Bodakdev area of Ahmedabad, not very far from the pump, so that it can be managed effectively. The area that was considered to be on Ahmedabad's outskirts is now among the busiest parts of the city, with the Kargil Petrol Pump becoming a popular landmark.
Scroll.in
4 days ago
- Scroll.in
Before demanding citizenship proof from Kargil veteran's family, mob barged into another Muslim home
On the night of July 26, a mob of Hindutva sympathisers forcibly entered the home of a Kargil war veteran's family in Pune's Chandan Nagar, accused his family of being Bangladeshi and demanded to see documents proving that they were Indian. Hours before, the same mob had similarly harassed another Muslim family who lived three houses away. In both instances, the mob was accompanied by police officials. As outrage over the incident grew, the police filed a first information report against seven Bajrang Dal workers who had raided the homes. 'In the garb of looking for illegal migrants, Muslims are being harassed,' said Shamshad Sheikh, whose uncle fought in the Kargil War. Sheikh and his family members were among those forced to go to the police station in the middle of the night with their documents. 'Several from our family served in the army, but we have been harassed to prove our nationality,' Sheikh said. So far, 16 people have been named in a first information report, Chandan Nagar Police Inspector Seema Dhakne told Scroll. Pradeep Jagannath Dhumal, the police hawaldar at the police station who is the main complainant, said that the initial FIR named seven people. 'All of them are Bajrang Dal members,' Dhumal told Scroll over the phone. Dhakne admitted to Scroll that the police had not carried out any background checks on the two Muslim families before they accompanied the Bajrang Dal workers to 'question' them. Vigilantes on the prowl Last Saturday night, Mohammed Salman had just retired to bed when there was a long banging on the ground-floor rented apartment in Chandan Nagar that he shared with his brother's family. Salman runs a hair-cutting salon in Pune. 'When my brother opened the door, several men came inside. They were chanting Jai Shri Ram,' he said. 'They said 'Aadhaar card nikalo, PAN card nikalo, kahan se aaye ho?'' Take out your Aadhar card, PAN card; where have you come from? Salman has lived in Chandan Nagar for six years. 'Before this we lived in another part of the city,' he said. 'My brother has lived in Pune for 17 years.' Salman said that a man dressed in plain clothes said he was from the police and asked them if any other Muslims lived in the neighbourhood. 'We were scared and told them about the Sheikh family,' said Salman. 'The Sheikhs are our neighbours in Pratapgarh' in Uttar Pradesh. The Hindutva workers and the accompanying police called Salman's landlord, who lived on the upper floor, to show identity proof. When contacted, the landlord refused to comment. A family of soldiers The mob then went next door into Sheikh's home. 'There were about 60 to 70 of them,' Shamshad Sheikh told Scroll. 'They went into our bedrooms, abused women and threatened children.' Sheikh, runs a transport business and lives in the residential locality. His extended family of 30, including his four brothers, live in the three adjoining houses. Sheikh's uncle Hakiumuddin served in the Indian Army and fought in the Kargil War. Hakimuddin currently lives in Pratapgarh. Hakimuddin's uncle – Sheikh's great-uncle – was also an Indian Army war veteran: he fought in the 1965 war against Pakistan and later in 1971. Several members of the family have served in the Indian army. Sheikh said five to seven men kept barging into the house while the rest stood outside and called them 'Bangladeshis'. 'We showed them our Aadhaar card, our PAN card,' he said. 'But they said the documents were fake.' Sheikh said that people in the mob identified themselves as Bajrang Dal members. The mob forced Sheikh's family to go to the Chandan Nagar police station. 'One person identified himself as a policeman,' said Sheikh. 'He was in plain clothes. He said the women and children could stay behind.' Sheikh, his brothers, uncle and their sons, and their neighbours Salman and his brother took their identification documents to the Chandan Nagar police station and waited there till 2.30 am. 'The police inspector told us to come again by 11 am the next day,' said Sheikh. 'She said that if we didn't come, we would be declared as Bangladeshis.' Chandan Nagar Police Inspector Dhakne refuted the allegation that she had threatened to declare the Sheikh family as Bangladeshis. 'I just asked them to return and submit their documents the next day,' Dhakne told Scroll. The family returned to the police station with their documents the next day. 'After that nobody harassed us,' said Sheikh. Policemen in plainclothes were with the mob, alleged the families, which the police later confirmed. 'The tip' Dhakne said that the Bajrang Dal told the police that some men from Assam were living in the area. She said the police team went directly to the spot with Bajrang Dal members without making any other inquiries. 'We suspected them to be Bangladeshis,' she said. 'If we get a tip, we will visit the spot. Some of our officers from the detection team wore civil clothes.' Dhakne added: 'We ask the suspects to show identification proof, details of native village, the local police station and we verify their details and leave them. The same protocol was carried out in this case.' In the initial FIR against the Hindutva mob, the police invoked sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanahita for unlawful assembly, disobeying public servants and creating public nuisance. But outrage grew over the harassment of a Kargil war veteran's family. The 26th anniversary of the Kargil War was marked across India on the same day – July 26. The police have added more stringent charges under Section 115 for causing voluntary hurt, Section 329 for criminal trespass, Section 353 for circulating false information and Section 299 for outraging religious feelings. Deputy commissioner of Police Somay Munde did not respond to calls or messages from Scroll. Officials from the Mumbai police told Scroll that they usually check the call data records of suspects to see if any phone calls have been made or received from Bangladesh before detaining people for questioning. However, Dhakne said they 'did not verify call records'. 'Police complicit' Milind Champanerkar, general secretary of People's Union for Civil Liberties, said it was a worrying pattern that 'even the police is complicit in anti-Muslim agenda'. 'About three months ago a Muslim salon owner was assaulted in Pune's Kothrud area because of his faith,' said Champanerkar. 'But the police did nothing, did not detain or arrest anyone.' Champanerkar said the police are dutybound to safeguard citizens. 'How can the police allow the Bajrang Dal to take the lead?' he asked, pointing out that no one from the outfit had been arrested so far for intruding into the homes of others. Firoz Khan, who runs a charitable organisation and is a member of the Republican Party of India in Pune, said communal incidents have increased lately. 'And all this is happening with complete knowledge of the police,' he said.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Ex-serviceman, two army jawans visit Kargil veteran's family
An office-bearer of ex-servicemen association and two jawans visited the family of Hakimuddin Shaikh, a retired soldier who fought in the 1999 Kargil War, on Wednesday afternoon and pledged solidarity with the family. After verifying facts related to the incident at the police station, the visitors went to his home to show support for the family, the family members said. (HT PHOTO) After verifying facts related to the incident at the police station, the visitors went to his home to show support for the family, the family members said. 'Two jawans on duty and an ex-servicemen association director from the Army Engineers Regiment heard that my uncle Hakimuddin was arrested. They came to the police station first and then to our house,' said Nawab Ali Shaikh, nephew of Hakimuddin. 'The director of the ex-servicemen association had worked with my uncle,' he said. Meanwhile, the Pune police on Wednesday registered a first information report (FIR) against seven individuals and others for alleged unlawful assembly after a group of members belonging to a right-wing group barged into the house of the family of the Kargil War veteran in Chandannagar late Saturday night accused them of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
