The war veteran and Maha Vir Chakra laureate Major General Chittoor Venugopal (95) died in his residence on Wednesday.
As a lieutenant colonel during the Indo-Pak War, Venugopal had commanded a battalion of Gorkha rifles during operations on the Eastern Front on December 4, 1971, when faced with the well-fortified enemy defenses in Uthali and Darsana. His battalion had vigorously driven the retreating enemy out until Jhenida was captured three days later.
It was only in February of this year that the major general was personally honored by Prime Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in Tirupati in recognition of his services in the war for the liberation of East Pakistan on the occasion of “Swarnim Vijay Varsh” commemorating the golden jubilee of the Indo-Pak War.
Prime Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed his grief over the death of the major general. It is an honor to falsify the war hero, said the Prime Minister and expressed his condolences to the bereaved.
Commissioner of the City Council of Tirupati (MCT) PS Gireesha, Superintendent of Police (Tirupati Urban) chap. Venkata Appala Naidu offered wreaths and paid tribute to the war veteran’s remains.