PUNE/NAGPUR:
Colonel Waibhav Anil Kale
(Retd), killed in Gaza while serving as an observer with
UN department of safety and security
, played a crucial role in fending off the 2016 terror attack on Pathankot airbase, his close friend, Lt Col Hange SD (Retd), told TOI on Tuesday.
Hange, who was then commanding a tank transport unit, said, "Kale, an alumnus of NDA in Pune, was commanding
Indian Army
's 11 J&K Rifles battalion when the Pathankot attack took place.
He and his unit played a crucial role in that operation."
"He was a jovial person. His demise is a big loss for me and my family as we stayed in the same building in Mumbai," Hange added.
An officer told TOI, "Kale was from 'November' squadron of 97th course at the academy & passed out from NDA in 1999. He was commissioned into the Indian Army in 2000 after passing out from IMA."
Kale's friend, a serving officer who didn't wish to be named, told TOI, "Kale had served extensively in J&K and Northeast. An expert in anti-terrorist operations, he participated in multiple operations. He was commanding a battalion in the western sector when Pathankot happened."
Kale's cousin, who did not wish to be named, told TOI: "Indian agencies are working on modalities to bring the body to India. At this moment, we don't have specific details. But we're in touch with the external affairs ministry, which is coordinating with their UN counterparts."
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