New Delhi: The family of Honorary Captain Karam Singh, who braved Pakistani army fire despite sustaining 16 bullet injuries in Kashmir's Tithwaal area in 1948, has been running from pillar to post for the last 25 years to get its due from various governments in Punjab.
Then a Lance Naik with the 1st Sikh regiment, Karam Singh was the first living soldier to be decorated with the country's highest wartime award Param Vir Chakra for his heroic deeds.
Capt Karam Singh also won a military medal for bravery during the World War II in the Burma sector as a soldier in the British army.
He was among the five soldiers selected by the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru to hoist the Indian National Flag for the first time after Independence in 1947.
The angry family has now threatened to auction the citations and medals won by Singh, including the country's highest gallantry award, as a mark of protest against the apathy of the Centre and the state government towards the war hero.
It was Karam Singh himself who started the long struggle to get government help.
His wife Gurdial Kaur continued to knock at the doors of government offices after he passed away on January 20, 1993 at Mallhian village in Barnala district.
After Gurdial's death in 2010, their sons and grandsons have tried their luck as well, but all in vain.
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