Kin of Gorkha soldier killed in Kashmir in mourning

The family of a Gorkha soldier of the Indian Army who was killed by Pakistani troopers are mourning his death, his family said here Sunday.

Rana Bahadur Gurung, a soldier of the Gorkha Rifles regiment, was killed Aug 3 in an attack by Pakistani troopers at Tangdhar sector in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district along the India-Pakistan border. He was the only son of his parents.

"He (Rana Bahadur Gurung) had told me on the phone he would return home soon to celebrate our daughter's birthday," lamented his widow Mankumari.

She said Rana Bahadur Gurung had also told her that he was deployed in a dangerous area. "Who do we depend on as our only son is gone," asked his father Ganga Bahadur tearfully.

The family said Rana Bahadur Gurung was scheduled to come home on leave in the first week of Bhadra (Aug 17-24).

Rana Bahadur Gurung joined the Indian Gorkha Rifles regiment nine years ago. His last rites were performed in India.