Slain Army veteran gets tearful send-off

With the Army taking elaborate measures to honour a slain brother in uniform, the place had been cleaned and washed in the early hours by the men of the Pune sub-area.

Maj Tathawade’s elder brother, Milind, performed the last rites along with the Major’s one-year-old son Sagar.

“The Major killed three militants in the operation before he succumbed to his injuries,” says Maj Tathawade’s colleague, Maj Sean O’Brien, who is from the same unit, the 8 Jammu & Kashmir Light Infantry (JAKLI) and accompanied the body to Pune.

According to Maj O’Brien, the unit received a tip off on Friday about a group of militants holed up in Shahpur village. Maj Tathawde, who was the officiating commanding officer of the unit immediately moved to the area with his men. Surrounding the hut where the militants where holed up they asked the militants to surrender.

When they refused the Army opened fire to flush out the militants. “It was then that Maj Tathawade saw two militants trying to break away,” remembers Maj O’Brien. Maj Tathawade charged the two militants and gunned them down when suddenly another attacked from behind.

“He rolled to the ground with the militant who got up and shot Maj Tathawade at point-blank range.” Although shot in the stomach and thigh he managed to kill the third militant. By then he was bleeding profusely but continued to direct the operation, warning his people to stay back till the militants were killed or captured.

“He ensured the safety of his men even though he was injured he refused to be evacuated,” said Maj O’Brien. Later when the remaining militants were killed they rushed the Major to a field ambulance unit but it was too late. He died due to excessive bleeding and his body was flown to Pune in the early hours of Monday.

Maj Tathawade was a veteran of several operations and had killed five militants from the Hizbul-ul-Mujahadeen in October last year. These militants were suspected to be from a group known as the HOJI. He had also done a stint on the Siachen glacier.

Born in Kendur Pabal village of Shirur Taluka in Pune district, Maj Tathawade did his schooling at Satara Military school before joining the National Defence Academy. He was commissioned into the 8 JAKLI on June 1984.

The funeral arrangements were made by the Pune sub area and Maj Gen B K Bopanna laid a wreath on behalf of the GOC-in-C, Southern Command, while Col G Ilangovan laid one on behalf of GOC-in–C Maharashtra and Gujarat area followed by a wreath by Brig Ashok Anand, Pune sub area commander.