1971 India-Pakistan war: Bhairon Singh Rathore, hero of Longewala passes away in Jodhpur
Jodhpur/New Delhi, Dec 19: Bhairon Singh Rathore, a BSF veteran of the 1971 India-Pakistan war whose bravery at Rajasthan's Longewala post was portrayed by actor Suniel Shetty in the Bollywood movie 'Border', died in Jodhpur on Monday.
He was 81.
"The braveheart took his last breath at AIIMS, Jodhpur, today. DG BSF and all ranks condole the passing of Naik (retd) Bhairon Singh, Sena Medal, the hero of the Longewala battle during the 1971 war. BSF salutes his intrepid bravery, courage and dedication towards his duty," the force said in a tweet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed grief over his death.
"Naik (retd) Bhairon Singh Ji will be remembered for his service to our nation. He showed great courage at a crucial point in our nation's history. Saddened by his passing away. My thoughts are with his family in this hour of sadness. Om Shanti," Modi tweeted.
Shah, in his Tweet, remembered his meeting with the war hero during his visit to Jaisalmer in December last year, saying the "tale of his bravery will keep motivating the future generations."
Rathore's son Sawai Singh told PTI on Saturday that his father was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Jodhpur on December 14, two days before the 51st anniversary of the war, after his health deteriorated and his limbs got affected in what seemed like a paralysis.
"Doctors told us that my father possibly suffered a brain stroke. He was in and out of ICU over the last few days," Singh said.
The Rathore family lives in Solankiatala village, about 100 km from Jodhpur.
A BSF spokesperson said Bhairon Singh Rathore's body has been taken to a training centre of the force in Jodhpur where a wreath laying ceremony will be held on Tuesday after which the cremation will be conducted in his village with full military honours.
Rathore was deployed at the Longewala post in the Thar desert of Jaisalmer, commanding a small BSF unit of six to seven personnel that was accompanied by a 120 men company of the Army's 23 Punjab regiment. It was the bravery of these men that decimated an assaulting Pakistani brigade and tank regiment at this location on December 5, 1971.
He received the Sena Medal in 1972 for his gallant action. Posted with the 14th BSF battalion during the war, Bhairon Singh Rathore retired from service as a Naik in 1987.
BSF records about the Longewala battle state, "When one of the 23 Punjab boys was killed, Lance Naik Bhairon Singh took his light machine gun and inflicted heavy casualties on the advancing enemy."
"It was only their courage and determination to do or die that won the day and Lance Naik Bhairon Singh became a great inspiration to his other comrades on the post," official records state.
Actor Suniel Shetty, who essayed Bhairon Singh Rathore's bravery in the 1997 movie 'Border', paid tributes on Twitter. "Rest in power Naik Bhairon Singh Ji. Heartfelt condolences to the family," he tweeted.
The war veteran, during his past interaction with reporters, said he has watched the movie where certain things about Longewala were shown correctly, like the Army taking over their post in the run-up to the war and he along with his men taking the then Army commanders Captain Dharamveer Singh (role played by actor Akshaye Khanna) and Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri (played by Sunny Deol) to show the area during a two-day patrol.
He had said it was Captain Dharamveer, sent for a reconnaissance of the forward area, who relayed over the wireless information of the advancing Pakistani tank and foot columns to his commanders back at the Longewala post.
Rathore had also confirmed that when Pakistan launched heavy artillery in the area, to conceal the reverberating sound of the enemy's advancing tank regiment, he had rushed inside the house of a reluctant local to fetch the holy Quran so that they could leave the war zone.
He, however, said he got married a year after the 1971 war and not as shown in the movie where his character (Shetty) rushed to the border immediately after his wedding.
The retired soldier said he and his men posted at Longewala had immense faith in 'Tanot Mata' whose temple is close to the post in Jaisalmer and has also been depicted in the war film.
Rathore continued to tell the tale of guts, glory and courage undertaken by the soldiers in one of India's biggest military victories for 51 years, as against his reel version getting killed in action.
DG BSF & all ranks condole the passing of Naik (Retd) Bhairon Singh, Sena Medal, the hero of #Longewala battle during 1971 War. BSF salutes his intrepid bravery, courage & dedication towards his duty.
— BSF (@BSF_India) December 19, 2022
Prahari parivar stands by his family in these trying times.#JaiHind pic.twitter.com/nzlqNJUi9K
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
