Siachen Glacier: Missing Indian soldier’s body found after 38 years

Harbol, who joined the Kumaon Regiment in 1971, was part of a five-member patrol when an avalanche hit it.

The remains of a soldier from Uttarakhand’s Haldwani, who went missing in Siachen in 1984, have been found 38 years later at the world’s highest battlefield.

Harbol, who joined the Kumaon Regiment in 1971, was part of a five-member patrol when an avalanche hit it. Neither his nor the bodies of the other four could be found.

Their regiment was part of India’s pre-emptive action to stop Pakistan from capturing strategic areas in the glacier in April 1984 as part of Operation Meghdoot.

The news of the recovery of Harbol’s body has brought in a wave of mixed emotions among his family members. 63-year-old Shanti Devi, the widow of Lance Naik Chandrashekhar Harbol, said officials from the army’s 19 Kumaon Regiment informed her about the recovery on Sunday.

She said her mind went blank and she could barely say anything when she was told the body was found on Saturday in an old bunker at Siachen.

His family had performed the ceremonies years ago when the news of his disappearance had reached them due to which they had presumed him to be dead.

Now after all these years, they finally have the confirmation and they may be able to perform Harbol’s last rites after all.

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