Hours before he was killed in a militant encounter in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda, Sepoy Ajay Singh Naruka had called his family in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu, saying he would be home on July 20.
“Ajay had called home just yesterday saying that he is fine although a conflict is going on. He said, ‘Jhagda ho he raha hai, aapko pata hai aap log TV dekhte ho (the combat is on, you know as you watch TV)’ but I am coming home as my leave has been sanctioned,” Ajay’s uncle Om Prakash, Assistant Sub-Inspector with Rajasthan Police, told The Indian Express. “But today morning his father received a call from the Army informing him that he is no more,” Om Prakash added.
Ajay was among the four Army personnel, including a Major-rank officer, who succumbed to their injuries after an encounter on Monday night in Doda district’s Desa forests.
Ajay had last visited home in Bhaisawata Kalan about three months ago and is survived by his wife Shalu Kanwar and his parents. Ajay and Shalu married two years ago and do not have kids.
Ajay has a younger brother who is pursuing his MBBS from AIIMS, Bathinda.
Like most families in the region, the Narukas have sent several people to the armed forces and Ajay is not the first to lay down his life in the line of duty. “His uncle Sujan Singh, posted with the BSF, was killed December 14, 2021,” Om Prakash said. Sujan was killed in a Naxal attack during a BSF operation in Lakshmipur, Odisha.
Ajay’s father Kamal Singh too retired from the Army in 2014-15 while another uncle, Kayam Singh Naruka, was awarded the Sena Medal in 2021.
Om Prakash said that Ajay’s body is expected in Jaipur around 7 pm Tuesday.
In a post on X, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma said, “Heartfelt tributes to the martyrdom of Ajay Singh Naruka ji, son of Bhaisawat Kalan village, Singhana, Rajasthan, in the cowardly attack by terrorists in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. My condolences are with the family of martyr Ajay Singh Naruka ji. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant peace to the departed brave soul. Om Shanti!”
Apart from Ajay, Sepoy Bijendra Singh, a resident of Khumbawali in Dumoli Kalan in Jhunjhunu, was also killed in the attack.
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