“Service Before Self” is a motto every army personnel embracing the olive green follows. It’s that one motto that keeps them going on the battlefield and while walking the glaciers in thigh-high snow.
On Sunday an army officer, Major Ankit Budhraja, posted in the Baramulla district of Jammu Kashmir passed away while trying to save his dog from a fire that broke out in his accommodation in Gulmarg.
Major Ankit Budhraja from the Signals Corps managed to rescue his wife and one of their dogs from the burning fire but died trying to save their other dog who was trapped in the burning hut.
Aftab Ahmad, the Station House Officer of Gulmarg in his statement mentioned:
The officer and his dog’s body were found in the same room. The officer had 90 percent burns.
Army spokesperson Rajesh Kalia confirmed the death of the major in the fire and told us that the hut that was on fire had four rooms lined in a row and the doggo was trapped in the last room when Major tried to save his life. The spokesperson further added:
The fire erupted at the front and spread towards the back and when he rushed in, he could not come out.
According to reports, the officer was being posted elsewhere and was about to leave on the day of the incident. The police was given this information by 2:45 am and it was only after they got the fire under control by 4:00 a.m that both the bodies were retrieved. After this, the body of the Major was sifted to the sub-district hospital in Tangmarg for further medico-legal formalities.
Even though the police is still investigating the cause of fire, there were two reasons that were ruled out by the Station House Officer Gulmarg, Aftab Ahmad:
There could be two reasons – either a short circuit or the Kerosene Bukhari which was being used in the hut. The FSL have taken samples and we can come to a conclusion only after a report from them.
May the soul of Major Ankit and his furry-dour-legged doggo rest in peace.
