Army veteran dies, wife donates body

Indian Military Veterans

New Delhi, September 7
The widow of an Indian Army officer has followed the unusual path and donated all organs and the body of her husband to a hospital at Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.

Capt Rajeev Kumar, a veteran of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka, died on August 31 due to alleged post-operative complications. His wife, Niyati, took the tough decision and it was in line with the wishes of the deceased soldier. The family said he had a fall and was operated on August 30 and died the next day due to complications.

Niyati, over the phone from Bareilly, said: “He (Capt Kumar) had pledged to donate his organs just two months ago when my father-in-law, Devendra Swaroop, had died. I had not expected this to happen so soon”. The decision was in line with his wishes to donate all his organs at death for transplantation, the woman added.

Capt Kumar, 54, had served in the Army’s 10 Para Regiment and was among the first lot to be air-dropped at Jaffna, Northern Sri Lanka in 1987, under Operation Pawan.

His course-mate Lt Col Manoj Channan, who lives in Gurgaon, said: “It was brave of the family to have donated the body. He will be remembered for his qualities as a soldier. We were expecting him at the course-get-together on August 31”. — TNS