Written by Saurabh ParasharShimla | Updated: October 4, 2025 08:55 PM IST 3 min readPersonnel of 19 Grenadiers Battalion with bride and groom on the stage. (Express Photo)Brothers-in-arms, they played the brothers to the sister of their martyred colleague Ashish Kumar, and everyone became emotional during the wedding at Bharli, a small hamlet in Paonta Sahib-Shillai region of Sirmour district, on Friday.“We cannot explain our emotions at the gesture of the Indian Army and the Ex-Servicemen Association on the day of our sister’s wedding. Five soldiers dressed in uniform came from the North-East. When they performed the role of brothers for Aradhana and escorted her under a sacred cloth to the mandap, tears rolled down our faces,” Rahul Kumar, elder brother of martyr Ashish Kumar, told The Indian Express.Ashish, who served with the 19 Grenadiers Battalion, made the supreme sacrifice on August 27, 2024, during “Operation Alert” in Arunachal Pradesh. His fellow soldiers and veterans ensured that the family did not feel his absence during the wedding of Aradhana. Ashish had joined the Army in September 2018 and was the youngest among four siblings, the fourth one being Rohit Kumar.The soldiers of the 19 Grenadiers Battalion — Havaldar Rakesh Kumar, Naik Rampal Singh, Naik Manish Kumar, Grenadier Abhishek and Grenadier Ayush Kumar — also handed over a fixed deposit of Rs 5 lakh in the name of Aradhana. Personnel of 19 Grenadiers Battalion escorting the bride till the stage. (Express Photo)Rahul said, “On August 27 this year, we marked one year of martyrdom of Ashish, who was younger than Anuradha. At that time too, personnel of the 19 Grenadiers Battalion had visited our house in Sirmour. Besides, the Ex-Servicemen Association, Paonta Sahib–Shillai, also assisted us during this time.”Ashish’s father Mangi Ram said, “We were left speechless by this gesture of the Army. All five soldiers who came from the North-East left last night. Ashish was the only one in government service in our entire family.”Narinder Chauhan, vice-president of the Ex-Servicemen Association, Paonta Sahib–Shillai, and a retired J&K Rifles soldier, said, “Our association has been taking care of the kin and family affairs of martyrs of our region since 2017. Ashish achieved martyrdom last year. The Commanding Officer (CO) of the 19 Grenadiers Battalion under whom Ashish had served is still posted there. The CO was aware of Aradhana’s marriage and took personal interest in it. It is for the first time in our region that colleagues and officers of a martyr attended the wedding of their comrade’s sister. Over the years, we have developed a system under which we receive the body of a martyr from our area at the border of Sirmour district, which touches Haryana and Uttarakhand on two sides.”Story continues below this adThe heartfelt gesture of the soldiers and veterans has gone viral on social media, drawing wide admiration. In December 2021, a similar gesture was witnessed in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh, where CRPF jawans attended the wedding of the sister of martyr, Constable Shailendra Pratap Singh. Shailendra was killed in the Pulwama terror attack. As a mark of respect and remembrance, his colleagues from the 110th battalion of CRPF had performed all the traditional “brother’s rituals” at his sister Jyoti’s wedding.Saurabh Parashar is a journalist with The Indian Express, where he primarily covers developments in Himachal Pradesh. He has been associated with The Indian Express since 2017 and has earlier worked with The Times of India. He has 17 year + experience in the field of print journalism. An alumnus of Government College for Men, Sector 11, (Panjab University), Chandigarh, Saurabh holds a Diploma in Journalism from Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Chandigarh. He pursued his Master’s in Mass Communication from Guru Jambheshwar University of Science & Technology, Hisar. In addition, he completed his law degree from Himachal Pradesh University (HPU), Shimla. ... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Indian army