CM KCR consoles the parents, wife and children of the martyred Colonel Santosh Babu

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday called on the family of Colonel Santosh Babu, who was killed in a clash with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in Ladakh last week, and hailed the martyr’s role in protecting the nation’s territorial sovereignty and in the process, sacrificing his life.

Consoling the parents, wife and children of the martyred Colonel at their Vidyanagar residence in Suryapet, the Chief Minister, as announced earlier, personally handed over the promised financial package of Rs 5 crore, an appointment letter to Santosh Babu’s wife Santoshi offering a Group-1 job and documents pertaining to a house site in Hyderabad.

The Chief Minister, who travelled by road and reached their residence at around 3.40 pm, first paid floral tributes to Santosh Babu’s portrait. He was accompanied by Ministers G Jagadish Reddy, Vemula Prashanth Reddy, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and other elected representatives and officials.

Chandrashekhar Rao consoled Santoshi, Colonel’s parents Manjula and Upender, and sister Sruthi, enquiring about their well-being. He also spent time with Santosh’s children Abhigna and Anirudh Teja.

Stating that Santosh Babu’s death had upset him deeply, Chandrashekhar Rao assured the family that the government would extend all support to them at all times and asked the family members to contact him whenever they needed any help. He



asked Jagadish Reddy to remain in touch with them and extend all possible help.

The Chief Minister handed over the letter appointing Santoshi as a Group-I officer, documents allotting 711 sq yards of house site in Banjara Hills in Hyderabad and a cheque for Rs 4 crore to Santoshi. The remaining Rs 1 crore cheque was handed over to Santosh Babu’s parents.

Rajya Sabha members J Santosh Kumar, Badugula Lingaiah, Telangana State Legislative Council Deputy Chairman Neti Vidyasagar, MLAs Gyaderi Kishore, Bollam Mallaiah Yadav, Chilumarthi Lingaiah, Bhoopal Reddy, Saidireddy, Zilla Parishad chairperson Deepika Yugandhar, Municipal chairperson Annapurnamma and others were also present.

Speaking to the media after the Chief Minister’s visit, Santoshi, along with her mother-in-law Manjula, thanked Chandrashekhar Rao for his kind gesture. She said the Chief Minister’s soothing words gave her and her family great strength during these troubled times. The Chief Minister also invited her family to Pragathi Bhavan after completing the formalities and rituals of Santosh Babu, she said.

Jagadish Reddy said as per the directions of the Chief Minister, a bronze statue of Santosh Babu would be erected near the old bus stand and the court complex junction. He said the junction would be named after the brave officer.