Colonel Santosh Babu, who was among the 20 soldiers that died in the line of duty in brutal hand-to-hand combat with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh's Galwan Valley on June 15 last year, has been awarded with the second highest wartime gallantry honour, the Maha Vir Chakra, for showing "conspicuous bravery in face of enemy, exemplary leadership and astute professionalism." He is survived by his wife Santoshi, nine-year-old daughter Abhigna and four-year-old son Anirudh. Santosh, the Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar Regiment, had been serving on the Indo-China border for the past one-and-half year and his family was looking forward to his transfer to Hyderabad.
The colonel and 19 other soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment were killed in the clashes with Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh on June 15, 2020. An alumnus of Sainik School, Korukonda and the National Defence Academy, he got commissioned into the Bihar Regiment from Indian Military Academy, Dehradun and went on to complete the prestigious Defence Service Staff Course from Wellington before taking over the command of his Battalion.Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had, on June 20, visited Santosh Babu’s house handed over the financial package announced by the state government.He handed over Rs 4 crore cheque to the Colonel’s wife Santoshi and Rs 1 crore cheque to his parents, who requested him to deposit the amount for their granddaughter. He also handed over to Santoshi a letter of her appointment to Group-1 job and documents of allotment of a house site measuring 711 square yards in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.