Published 12:51 IST, June 17th 2020
Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Taapsee, others salute Indian soldiers martyred at Galwan
Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu and other saluted the Army soldiers martyred at Galwan Valley in the violent face-off with Chinese Army.
Celebrities of the film industry issued strong responses after Indian Army personnel were martyred in a violent face-off with Chinese Army at the Galwan Valley. Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu, Varun Dhawan, Richa Chadha, Neha Dhupia, Yami Gautam, Sonakshi Sinha, Rakul Preet Singh were among those deeply saddened by the news and expressed their condolences to the martyred personnel’s families.
The stars wrote that they will ‘forever be indebted’ to the ‘bravehearts’ for sacrificing their lives for the nation. The celebrities hailed the defence for ‘standing its ground’, while also praying for peace and hope and wishing strength and safety to the nation. They also posted photographs of some of the soldiers.
Here are the reactions
The Indian Army on Tuesday confirmed that 20 soldiers were martyred in the violent face-off at the Line of Actual Control, that took place from late Monday to Tuesday. After initially confirming that three soldiers had died, the Army later added that 17 more personnel who were critically injured succumbed to their injuries. It was also informed that the troops have disengaged.
Here's the official statement
"Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area where they had earlier clashed on the night of 15/16 June 2020. 17 Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the stand off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries, taking the total that were killed in action to 20. Indian Army is firmly committed to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation."
The confrontation took place when the de-escalation process was underway along the LAC. As per a report on ANI, the Chinese Army also suffered 43 casualties. The face-off was reportedly provoked by an attack on an Indian Colonel with iron rods, leading to a physical hand-to-hand between the armies involving clubs and rocks for many hours.
The incident prompted a meeting of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with the Chief of the Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, the three service chiefs and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were also briefed about the situation.
Updated 12:51 IST, June 17th 2020