Nitish Sharma

Tribune News Service

Ambala, August 5

Family members of Major Yogesh Gupta, who sacrificed his life while fighting terrorists in Surankot in Jammu and Kashmir in July, 2002, have decided to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court if no gallantry award and a road or a chowk is announced after the martyr.Ved Prakash Gupta, farther of the martyr, says, “No gallantry award has been announced for Yogesh though he killed four dreaded terrorists before sacrificing his life. My wife, who struggled for nearly 15 years to keep the name of Yogesh alive in public memory, died on June 13 with her earnest desire unfulfilled. We feel dejected when a gallantry award is presented to the next of kin of other martyrs while Yogesh has been given none”.“We have written numerous letters to the GOC in Ambala, the President, the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Defence, local administration, state officials and the MLA over the last 15 years, but to no avail”, he adds.Gupta says, “We just want a road or a chowk to be named after Major Yogesh. After a struggle of 15 years, we got a reply in February this year that according to the government policy, the Deputy Commissioner has the authority to effect the change after considering the matter as and when any gram panchayat or municipal council approaches him with a resolution in this regard”.“It gives us a feeling that a letter from a gram panchayat or a municipal council gets more respect than the martyrdom of an Army Major and the struggle of his parents. It is the duty of the local administration and the government to do the needful instead of the aggrieved family to request people to pass resolutions and approach them,” he adds.The martyr’s father says, “We are not seeking monetary help. It is a matter of honouring a martyr and remembering his bravery. Renaming a road or a chowk will help in keeping his name alive and inspiring the future generation”.“We have written a letter to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and sent a reminder to the Ministry of Defence this week. This is our last attempt, as we have been struggling for 15 years now. If no gallantry award is announced or a chowk is renamed after Major Yogesh, we will approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court to seek justice for the martyr,” says Gupta.