Lt. Colonel who was in coma after gunfight with Militants in Kupwara dies after 8 years

Jalandhar, Dec 25 (WD): Lt. Colonel who was in coma after gunfight with Militants in Kupwara dies after 8 years.

Lt. Col. Karanbir Singh Natt, Sena Medal, who had been in a coma for eight years following a gunfight with militants in Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir, passed away at Military Hospital Jalandhar.

Brig BA Dhillon (retd), Director Sainik Welfare, Punjab, confirmed Lt. Col. Natt’s demise. He served as the second-in-command of 160 Territorial Army Battalion (JAK Rifles) during the 2015 incident.

Originally commissioned in 1998, Lt. Col. Natt served in The Brigade of Guards for 14 years before joining the Territorial Army after completing his Short Service Commission.

In November 2015, while leading an operation against militants, Lt. Col. Natt sustained severe injuries to his face, especially the lower jaw, when a terrorist in Haji Naka village fired upon him. Despite surgeries in Military Hospital Srinagar and Army Research and Referral Hospital New Delhi, he remained in a coma.

Survived by his wife Navpreet Kaur and daughters Guneet and Ashmeet, Lt. Col. Natt’s family hails from Dhadiala Natt near Batala.