Swati Mahadik, wife of Colonel Santosh Yashwant Mahadik, who lost his life fighting terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015, was commissioned as Army Officer on Saturday. She joined the Indian Army as Lieutenant.
Swati cleared the Service Selection Board (SSB) examination in 2016 and was undergoing further training at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai.
“When you lose someone who is close to you it hurts. His (Colonel Mahadik) first love was his uniform and his unit, so I just had to wear this. It just happened and I did not even work harder for this. Even my family was with me, so I know I will be able to do it. After wearing this uniform, I want to know what work has to be done and I will learn it,” Lieutenant Swati told ANI.
Colonel Santosh Yashwant Mahadik, the commanding officer of 41 Rashtriya Rifles, was killed in a counter-infiltration operation in the Manigah forest of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
An officer from the 21 Para-Special Forces unit, he was awarded a Sena Medal for gallantry during Operation Rhino in the North-East in 2003, reports Hindustan Times.
According to a report in The Times of India, the 38-year-old was the second Army commanding officer to die in a terrorist encounter last year.
Col Mahadik was awarded a Sena Medal for gallantry during Operation Rhino in the north-east in 2003 after which he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. He also volunteered to command a battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles, the Army’s specialised counter-insurgency force in Jammu and Kashmir.
(Feature Image Source: Twitter)