DEHRADUN: The stage was set for his wedding on March 7 when Major Chitresh Bisht left his Nehru Colony residence on February 2 after completing his pre-wedding shopping. But, none would have imagined that this would be the last time Bisht would be visiting his home city.The Army officer was killed while defusing an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), which had been planted by terrorists. IED was planted 1.5 kms inside the Line of Control (LoC) in Naushera sector, Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir.Major Chitresh Singh Bisht was leading a bomb disposal squad team for sanitisation when mines were detected on the track in Naushera sector around 3 pm, a defence spokesman said.He said the team defused one of the mines successfully but while neutralizing another mine, the device got activated and the officer suffered grievous injuries and attained martyrdom.All hell broke loose when the family heard about Bisht’s death in the IED explosion. Politicians, locals rushed to their residence to share their grief.Vijay Gusain, a relative of Chitresh Bisht, said, “The entire family was in celebration mode as his wedding had been finalised. It was difficult to digest when we first heard the news about his death. It took some time to realise that he won’t be with us anymore.”Reminiscing about Chitresh Bisht, a classmate of his who did not wish to be named, said, “"Bisht was a person on whom everyone in the class depended. A good student, and an even better human being. It was in his nature to come forward and help those in need.”Chitresh Bisht’s father, Surendra Singh Bisht, is a retired policeman, while his mother is a housewife. His elder brother, Neeraj Bisht, is a software engineer and settled in England.Chitresh had recently completed his training from Military Headquarters of War and had gone to Jammu and Kashmir on February 2.29-year-old Chitresh did his initial schooling from St. Thomas and thereafter studied in St. Josephs School, where he passed his Class XII in 2005.Passionate to serve the nation, he passed out from the Indian Military Academy in 2009.Reacting to the loss, state BJP chief Ajay Bhatt said, “We are proud of our brave sons. This is not only a Devbhoomi (land of gods), but also a Veerbhoomi (land of bravehearts).( With inputs from PTI)

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