Colonel Santosh Babu was one of the martyrs?killed in the violent clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan Valley last month. His wife Santoshi was recently been appointed Deputy Collector.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao handed the appointment letter to Santoshi Babu at a lunch attended by senior officers and state ministers on Wednesday.
According to an official release, ¡®The state government has appointed Ms Santoshi, wife of Col Santosh Babu who was martyred in the recent clashes on the Indo-China Border, as Deputy Collector. Honourable Chief Minister Sri K Chandrashekhar Rao on Wednesday at Pragathi Bhavan handed over the appointment letter to Ms Santoshi¡¯.
She was also handed? over documents for a 711-sq-yard house site in Hyderabad's high-end Banjara Hills by collector Shweta Mohanty.?
Santoshi has a four-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter and the Chief Minister stressed that she must be posted only in Hyderabad and its surrounding areas. CM¡¯s Secretary, Smita Sabharwal, is to assist Ms Santoshi till the time she is properly trained for her new job.
Santoshi Babu was appointed as a Group-I service officer in the state government by CM Rao in June when he visited the family in Suryapet town, about 130 km from Hyderabad. After the death of the colonel, the family was also given Rs 5 crore financial support by the state government.?
¡°In remembrance of the martyrdom of Col Santosh Babu, CM came to our house and helped¡the Collector invited me today, showed the place (land in Hyderabad) to me and gave the related documents. I am thankful to the CM and Collector,¡± Santoshi reportedly said.
According to a TOI report, Santoshi had initially opted for the post of commercial tax officer but changed her mind and sought deputy collector job in Group-I cadre, which was accepted by the state government.
The chief minister lunched with 20 family members of Santoshi who had accompanied her to Pragathi Bhavan.?
39-year-old Colonel Santosh Babu was among the 20 Indian soldiers who were martyred in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh on June 15 during a clash with Chinese troops. This was the biggest military confrontation between the nations in over five decades.
Colonel Santosh Babu was in the 16 Bihar regiment as Commanding Officer. He had been in the army since 2004 and his first posting was in Jammu and Kashmir.?