Tumakuru , KARNATAKA :
He was involved in a major operation at Arwani in 2017 where he came face to face with a terrorist and had gunned him down.
Tumakuru :
An Indian Army Naik hailing from Tumakuru, who has gunned down seven militants in his 15-year service, most of it in Jammu and Kashmir region, has won the Sena Medal for gallantry this year. Mohammed Sadik (34) of the 1st Rashtriya Rifles, the army’s elite counter-insurgency unit, had eliminated three terrorists in a fierce gunbattle at Kulgam in July 2018. He was involved in a major operation at Arwani in 2017 where he came face to face with a terrorist and had gunned him down.
“I joined the army with a great passion. ‘Desh seva is Esha seva’ (serving the country is serving the god) for me”, said a proud Sadik when contacted over phone. Sadik’s mother Shirajunnisa, wife Rahamath Unnisa and two-and-half-year-old son Ayman were beaming with pride and joy at the Mahatma Gandhi stadium here on Saturday. They had been invited for a felicitation by the district administration on the occasion of the 70th Republic Day celebrations. Flexes with his pictures were put up at many places in the city to inspire youths.
“His father late Mohamed Salim used to hawk popsicles in different villages besides doing small seasonal businesses. Their’s was an economically backward family”, recalled Dandina Thimme Gowda, a local resident.
SADIK joined the army as a jawan on January 21, 2004, and served in J&K region for eight years, in Sudan as part of the UN peacekeeping force for a year, and for two years with the elite NSG in New Delhi.
He dreamed of joining the army even while he was studying in Class 3 at a government school at Bhovi Colony in Tiptur town.
After his primary education, Sadik completed his middle-schooling at the government school at Dandinashivara village and three years of higher secondary education at Digvijaya High School at Ammasandra in Turuvekere taluk of the district. After completing his SSLC board examination in his first attempt, he got selected for the army in at a recruitment rally held at Madras Engineering Group (MEG) at Bengaluru. He later did his Bachelors of Arts (BA) through distance education.
Impressed by PM Modi’s ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padao’ slogan, Sadik brought his adopted sister’s daughter Shifa Annum to his household so that she can pursue her education. He also dreams of her becoming an army officer. His mother Shirajunnisa, wife Rahamath Unnisa and two-and-half-year-old son Ayman live in a small rented house at the Poor House Colony area in Tumakuru.
“We knew the risk involved in the army, that too in J&K. We are proud of him as he has been serving the motherland,” said the proud mother and wife. He is the only son of his parents.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Devaraj B. Hirehalli / Express News Service / January 27th, 2019