Intensive search activities continued on Sunday to locate two Indian Army servicemen who went missing on May 28 while stationed in the forward areas of Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district, according to the army.
The army stated in a statement on Sunday that Naik Prakash Singh Rana (34) and Lance Naik Harender Singh (28) were believed to have fallen into a fast-flowing river near their position by accident.
“Despite immediate and comprehensive search and rescue operations, including aerial reconnaissance and tracking dogs, no result has been obtained in the retrieval of the troops,” it stated.
The army has organised a court of inquiry to investigate the incident, and the search efforts have been ongoing for the past two weeks.
The families of the two troops, both of whom are from Uttarakhand, have been told of the occurrence and are being kept informed on a daily basis, according to the announcement.
Prakash Singh Rana’s wife, a 7th Garhwal Rifles jawan, was growing increasingly concerned about her husband’s well-being. She is losing patience with each passing day as her husband’s whereabouts remain unknown. On the morning of May 28, the pair exchanged texts for the last time. They were on a video call the day before, beaming at one other.
“He texted me in the morning on May 28 claiming he was well,” Mamta (30) told HT. She claimed she awoke the next day to the devastating news delivered by army officers.
“Since then, I’ve only been told that the search is underway.” His whereabouts are still unknown,” she said.
Anuj (10) and Anamika (7), the couple’s two children, are also concerned about their father’s destiny.
“When will Papa return?” Why is he not answering his phone? They keep asking me these kinds of questions. “I don’t have anything to say to them,” Mamta explained.
The jawan, who has been in the army for 13 years, returned home on holiday in December before returning to duty on January 23.
The family, who hails from Rudraprayag, has been residing in Dehradun’s Sahaspur since 2019.
Sahdev Singh Pundir, a BJP legislator from Sahaspur, said he had been in contact with the family on a regular basis.
“On Friday, I paid a visit to the family. Whatever assistance the soldier and his family require is being provided. I’ve submitted all of the soldier’s information to Delhi. “They’re doing everything they can to find the jawan,” he claimed.
Lance Naik is a professional photographer. Harender Singh Negi, a resident of Guptkashi in the Rudraprayag district, has served in the army for around ten years. He has a one-year-old son with Poonam Negi, whom he married three years ago.
He chatted to his family over WhatsApp on the morning of May 28. The family was notified of his disappearance at 9 p.m. the same day. Negi last visited his family in December and returned to duty on January 8.
Negi’s wife was unable to speak with HT because she was ill.
Another family member, who did not want to be identified, stated that despite receiving regular updates from the army about the ongoing search operation, they remain concerned and apprehensive about his disappearance.
“Although we haven’t heard anything about him yet, we are hopeful that he is safe and uninjured.” We sincerely hope he returns. We’ll see what we can do if the army fails to find him in the following days,” a family member added.
