Twenty Indian Soldiers Killed, Troops Disengage

In an official statement, the Indian Army on June 16 stated that 20 personnel had lost their lives in the violent faceoff at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh. The statement also said that the troops on both sides had de-escalated.

The official statement said, “India and Chinese troops have disengaged at Galwan where they clashed on the night of 15/16 June. Seventeen troops were critically injured in the line of duty at the stand-off location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries, taking the total count that were killed in action to 20.”




The statement further stated that the Indian Army was firmly committed to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation.

Earlier in the day, Army’s statement had conveyed that the number of deaths that had occurred were three, which included one commanding officer and two soldiers. The commanding officer who was martyred was Colonel B. Santosh Babu of the 16 Bihar Regiment and hailed from Suryapet, Telangana. The two soldiers were Havildar Palani from Tamil Nadu and Sepoy Ojha from Jharkhand.