The remains of an Indian soldier who disappeared 38 years ago have been found in the Siachen Glacier in the Himalayas, site of countless battles for his rule between India and Pakistan that made it the world’s highest battleground.
Thirty-eight years after his disappearance, the body of an Indian soldier has been found in a glacier in the Himalayas.
A unit of the Indian Army tweeted a photo of Chander Shekhar’s casket, wrapped in the Indian flag, on Wednesday morning.
1984: Indian Army LNk Chander Shekhar went missing while deployed on a glacier due to an avalanche.
2022: Indian Army finds the body of LNK soldier Chander Shekhar.
The family’s 38-year wait is finally over. Om Shanti. pic.twitter.com/7oErozQd36
— Anshul Saxena (@AskAnshul) August 16, 2022
According to the army, Private Shekhar had been deployed as part of Operation Meghdoot (Messenger Cloud) in 1984, when India and Pakistan started fighting for control of the Siachen Glacier, in the Himalayan region of Ladakh.
Siachen, which peaks at over 5,400m and where temperatures can drop to -50°C, is one of the most difficult military deployment zones in the world.
Military funeral for Chander Shekhar
The soldier’s funeral will be celebrated with military honors in the northern state of Uttarakhand, where his family lives. According to his daughter, who was 4 years old when he disappeared, the return of his remains will make his family finally turn the page.
“He has been gone for a long time (…) Father is back, but I hope he is still alive,” he said, quoted by the Hindustan Times daily.
According to the local press, Chander Shekhar died after being caught in an avalanche while on patrol with 20 soldiers. Fifteen bodies had been recovered by then, and he was one of the five missing soldiers.
Decades after the first battle for control of Siachen, India and Pakistan maintain a military presence in this highly isolated region.
