Three Years After Soldier's Death, Wife Joins Indian Army As Officer

32-year-old Jyoti Nainwal, the wife of Naik Deepak Nainwal, was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Indian Army on Saturday. After 11 months of training, she became one of the 29 women to pass out of the Officers Training Academy in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Earlier this year, Jyoti Nainwal passed the Staff Selection Board(SSB) Exams in her fourth attempt and was accepted into the Officers' Training Academy in Chennai for a year of training. She is the first to hold an officer's rank in the late Naik Deepak Nainwal's family of jawans and other non-officer rankers.

Naik Deepak Nainwal was born in the Kanchula village of Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. He was a part of the 1 Mahar Regiment and was killed in action on April 10, 2018, while stationed in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district. He was shot and spent 40 days in the hospital before succumbing to his injuries.

Soldier's Last Wish

In a video with the public Lieutenant Jyoti, who is also a mother of two, said, "He gifted us a life of pride... which we, I am trying to carry forward".

She expressed her joy at fulfilling her husband's dying wish in an interview. She told the media sources, "having been grievously shot in the spine and chest, he had lost all sensation in his lower body. During the last 40 days of his life at the hospital in Delhi, he once asked me to join the Army when he is no more. I am thankful to the Indian Army for giving me the opportunity of honouring his last wish."

Lieutenant Jyoti was one of 177 candidates who successfully completed the OTA, which included 124 men, 28 women, and 25 foreign nations.

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