Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar visited the family members in the village on Thursday and paid his last respects to the martyr. Parrikar assured the family members of all support, while Col Mahadik’s wife Swati told the defence minister that both her children Katikee and Swaraj will join the Armed Forces. Col. Mahadik, who was decorated with a Sena Medal, was accorded a funeral with full military honours in an open ground in the village, an official said.

Colonel Mahadik is the second martyr Pogarwadi village has given to the country.
The mortal remains of Colonel Santosh Mahadik (37) were laid in front of a flame at the National War Memorial on Wednesday in Pune. As teary eyes of the family members looked on, the friends and colleagues who knew and served with him, paid their last respects to the man they adored and the soldier they respected.
Col Mahadik, who was originally from Pogarwadi village in Satara district in Maharashtra and was commanding the 41 Rashtriya Rifles laid his life while conducting a counter infiltration operation in Manigah Forest of Kupwara District in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday. The colonel, who originally belonged to the elite 21 Para unit of the Special Forces, was awarded Sena Medal (Gallantry) for his exceptional gallantry and leadership as a young officer while fighting the terrorists in Lolab Valley in Kupwara in 2003.

Colonel Mahadik, Kupwara encounter, soldier mahadik, Colonel Santosh Mahadik Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar visited the family members in the village on Thursday and paid his last respects to the martyr. (Source: Photo by Arul Horizon)
His mortal remains were brought to the Lohegaon Air Force base around 5.15 pm from Udhampur by an Air Force plane and were later brought to the National War Memorial. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, Army Commander of Southern Command Lt Gen Ashok Singh, Southern Command Chief of Staff Lt Gen R J Noronha, Air officer Commanding of the Pune Air Force Base, Air Commodore AK Bharti, several other serving and retired officers of the Armed Forces paid their respect to the colonel by laying wreaths.

The senior military officers after paying their respects met the family members of the colonel including his wife Swati, daughter Kartikee (11) and son Swaraj (5) and other relatives. Coming from a humble family, Col Mahadik’s orientation as a student towards Armed Forces was seen during his studies at the Satara Sainik School, a well known preparatory military school in Satara. He had done his higher studies from the Yashwantrao Chavan Science College from the same district.
“I can not imagine the loss of the family, I can simply pray for them. But I understand how big a loss it is for the unit, when a brave commanding is killed. Losses of such brave and talented officer are beyond any description.” said a senior Army officer. His friends remembered him as ‘calm in composure, gentle in demeanor who carried a storm in his heart.’ Sports specially boxing was his passion. During a school boxing championship, one of his friends congratulated him for his victory to which his father responded ‘this is not the great fight of my son, his real fight will be on the borders protecting his nation and my son will always be victorious,’ recalled his friends.