Gurdaspur: During his 30 years of service in the Indian Army and Defence Security Corps (DSC), Havildar Kulwant Singh had always been posted far from home. It was only two months ago that he finally got a posting in his home state of Punjab. The happiness, though, was short-lived. Kulwant, 49, was killed in the attack on the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Pathankot in the wee hours of Saturday.
At their home in Chak Sharif village of Gurdaspur district, Kulwant's wife Harbhajan Kaur was inconsolable. “This was the first time he was posted in Punjab. He was very happy to get an opportunity to stay close to the family,” she said.
Kulwant joined the army when he was 19. He retired in 2004 and joined the DSC the same year. He was recently posted in Pathankot from Odisha. In the last week of December, he took a four-day leave to spend time with his family.
“He never told us anything about any security threat at the Pathankot air base, and was happy to get a posting here. He got a poster size photo and asked me to keep it,” she said, her eyes welling with tears. “Now we will use the photo to remember him.”
The couple have two sons, studying in Class 12 and 6.
Kulwant’s sister Jaswinder Kaur said, “He joined the army at a young age. He was very patriotic and used to write patriotic songs.”
The villagers remembered Kulwant as a happy-go-lucky, honest and sincere man.
The body of the havildar is expected to be handed over to the family on Monday. Political leaders have already started visiting their residence. AAP’s state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur visited on Sunday, while Congress leaders were expected in the evening.
