Twenty-two-year-old Captain Kapil Kundu, who was killed in heavy Pakistani shelling along the LoC in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, was to visit home on his birthday.
Capt Kundu, a resident of Ransika village near Pataudi in Haryana's Gururgram district, would have turned 23 on February 10.
The young Army Captain was among the four Army personnel who were killed yesterday in heavy Pakistani shelling along the LoC in Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu and Kashmir.
A pall of gloom descended at his village. His mother, Sunita, who was struggling to hold back her tears said his son loved an adventurous life.
"Kapil was to visit us on his birthday on February 10. He always used to surprise me and tell his sisters first about his visit. He used to share everything with them," she said, adding he had visited the family in November last year.
According to his family members, Capt Kundu believed in life which was larger in stature and not in length.
"He was fond of life which was full of adventure, he loved nature. He was a great patriot. He used to write poetry to express his feelings for his country. He always used to say country is supreme," she said.
The anguished villagers here raised slogans against Pakistan and demanded the government to give it a befitting reply.
Capt Kundu's sister broke down several times recalling the great bond they shared.
"He told me that he was visiting the family on February 10 and as usual he asked me not to tell this to anyone as he wanted to give a surprise to our mother," she said.
In the shelling, three jawans were also killed, senior Army officials said.
Forty two-year-old Havildar Roshan Lal, resident of Samba district, 27-year-old Riflemen Ramavatar of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh and Subham Singh (23) of J&K's Kathua district were also killed, he said.
"Martyrdom of Indian Army soldiers will not go in vain. The unprovoked action by the Pakistan Army will be given a befitting response," an official said.
Earlier in the day, two teenagers and a jawan were injured in the Shahpur sector of Poonch district in the shelling from across the border, a police official said.
PTI