Army pays tribute to fallen soldiers: Here is the list of 20 jawans martyred in Galwan Valley face-off

The Indian Army on Wednesday released the names of the 20 military personnel, including an officer, who laid out their lives in the violent face-off with China in Galwan Valley, Ladakh.

The names of the personnel are -- Col Bikumalla Santosh Babu, Nb Sub Nuduram Soren, Nb Sub Mandeep Singh, Nb Sub (Dvr) Satnam Singh-Gurdaspur, Hav (Gnr) K Palani, Hav Sunil Kumar, Hav Bipul Roy, NK (NA) Deepak Kumar, Sep Rajesh Orang, Sep Kundan Kumar Ojha, Sep Ganesh Ram, Sep Chandrakanta Pradhan, Sep Ankush, Sep Gurbinder, Sep Gurtej Singh, Sep Chandan Kumar, Sep Kundan Kumar, Sep Aman Kumar, Sep Jai Kishor Singh and Sep Ganesh Hansda.

While the death of Col Bikumalla Santosh Babu, Hav (Gnr) K Palani and Kundan Kumar Ojha was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon, the army said 17 more were killed after being exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain.

Army chief General MM Naravane paid tribute to the fallen soldiers and offered condolences to the families.

"General MM Naravane #COAS & all ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of our valiant soldiers at #Galwan. We offer deepest condolences to the families & stand strong in our resolve towards protecting the sovereignty & integrity of our country. Their sacrifices will not go in vain," Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) said in a tweet. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also paid tributes to these soldiers and asserted that their sacrifice will not go in vain.

The Prime Minister, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Ministers of 15 States and Union Territories, who were present in the meeting via video-conference today, observed a two-minute silence as a tribute to the soldiers.

Indian intercepts revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties, including dead and seriously injured, in the violent face-off. The commanding officer of the Chinese Unit is among those killed, sources confirmed to ANI.

Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area in Ladakh where they had earlier clashed on the night of June 15 and 16, Indian Army said.

The violent face-off happened on late evening and night of June 15 in Ladakh`s Galwan valley as a result of an attempt by the Chinese troops to "unilaterally change" the status quo during de-escalation in Eastern Ladakh and the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side, India said on Tuesday.

(With ANI inputs)