By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: Union PNG-Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has condole the death of Lieutenant General (Retired) KP Dhalasamanta.
The brave retired Army Officer, hails from Odisha, breathed his last on Monday at a private hospital in New Delhi. He was 70. “I personally very shocked after hearing the sad demise and hope the departed soul rest in peace,” Union Minister Pradhan said.
According to sources, Dhalasamanta was battling with cancer and under treatment at a hospital since last one month. He is survived by his wife Sumananjali Devi and son Pranab Dhalasamanta, Deputy Executive Editor with The Economic Times.
Dhalasamanta, the retired Director General of the Rashtriya Rifles, India’s premier counter insurgency force deployed in Kashmir, was commissioned at the young age of 19 to the Regiment of Artillery. He had fought in the 1971 war on the Eastern front and was awarded the Poorvi Star.
He was among the veterans invited regularly to Bangladesh as a mark of honour for their valiant efforts in the liberation of Bangladesh.
Lt General had also participated in Operation Blue Star, the larger fight against terrorism in Punjab. He had commanded an artillery regiment in the world’s highest battlefield – the Siachen Glacier. During the 1999 Kargil war, Gen Dhalasamanta was instrumental in helping deploy the 155 mm Bofors guns in difficult conditions.
As Sub Area Commander of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha, he contributed immensely in providing aid during various disasters and formulating policies on disaster management besides managing military assets in the three states. He spearheaded the military response to the Bihar floods of 2002 and the Rajdhani train accident at Gaya.
As the DG of Rashtriya Rifles during the period from 2007 to 2010, he was instrumental in leading, managing and modernizing the then 92000-strong counter-insurgency force.
On retirement, he was made Member of the then newly created Armed Forces Tribunal in Kolkata before setting down in Bhubaneswar 2014 onwards.
Besides, Gen Dhalasamanta was a specialist in Group Behavioral Science and a trained Interviewing officer. He had headed the Services Selection Centre at Bhopal, which chose officers into the Army and Navy. He had interviewed more than 5000 officer candidates in this role.
He was also associated with the Defence Institute of Psychological Research (DIPR) on related issues besides being in the expert panel with the UPSC.
