Indu Rebecca Varghese, wife of martyred officer Major Mukund Varadharajan is in New Delhi to receive the Ashok Chakra award bestowed on her husband, on Monday.

Maj. Mukund’s father R. Varadharajan, who has accompanied his daughter-in-law to the national capital, told The Hindu that it was a proud moment for their family as many of his son’s colleagues called on them to congratulate.

Mr. Varadharajan, who spoke over phone, said: “When Maj. Ashutosh Pandey, the officer who substituted Mukund’s place in the  44th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles (22 Rajput) narrated tales of Mukund’s bravery and subtleness in handling crisis in the battle to fight terrorism, it brought tears to my eyes,” he said.

Mukund’s four-year-old daughter Arshea is also in New Delhi for the award ceremony on Tuesday.

Tambaram resident, Mukund Varadharajan, who laid down his life fighting insurgents in Kashmir, has been posthumously awarded the nation’s highest peacetime gallantry award ‘Ashok Chakra’.

Major Mukund Varadarajan, of 44th Battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles (22 Rajput) was leading an anti-terrorist search operation in Shopian in South Kashmir. He was killed in an encounter with Hizbul Mujahideen militants in April last year.

He gunned down two heavily armed terrorists before breathing his last.

Maj. Mukund’s mother, Geetha Varadharajan said: “we take this award as a reward for our son’s bravery in combating terrorism and it will give us courage to bear the loss.”

“We take this award as a reward for our son’s bravery”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by T. Madhavan / Chennai – January 26th, 2015