Commandant Viplav Tripathi, wife and son killed in Manipur attack.
Dispatch News.
Raigarh. Commandant Viplav Tripathi (41), the elder son of senior journalist Subhash Tripathi living in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, was martyred in a militant attack in Manipur. His wife, Anuja Shukla (37) and their 6-year-old son Avir Tripathi also lost their lives. The militants blew up his car with an IED.
Subhash Tripathi’s family was having breakfast in the morning. It was during this time that he got the news of the death of his son. Subhash Tripathi and his wife had returned to Raigarh on Sunday, six days ago. They were with their elder son Viplav for the last three and a half months. The whole family celebrated Diwali together and returned with the promise of their son coming soon.
Commandant Viplav got posted in Manipur about one and a half years ago. Before that, he was in Meerut Cantt. He came home about a year ago after posting. He had promised to stay in Raigarh even after retirement.
Viplav’s father, Subhash Tripathi, and his wife are speechless after getting information about the incident. There are no tears in their eyes. The whole city has thronged their house. There is an influx of those who want to meet them. Seeing the crowd of people, both of them came out with great difficulty. Since then Subhash Tripathi has been sitting quietly. His wife urges the people who come in between to sit.
Uncle Rajiv Patnaik told us that Viplav was very humble. We wondered how he became a soldier. While returning from the post, the militants attacked the vehicle. Fighting continued even after this, but they ran out of bullets.
Viplav’s grandfather Kishori Mohan Tripathi was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India. He played a role in making the constitution.
Commandant Viplav Tripathi’s younger brother Anay Tripathi is a lieutenant colonel in the Assam Rifles. He was soon going to go to Mahu for training. Earlier, they were celebrating happiness with their family. Everyone was having breakfast together when they got information about martyrdom from the army. He confirmed this information, and then he left for Manipur to collect the dead body of his elder brother, sister-in-law and nephew.
Commandant Viplav was born in 1980. He had his early education in Raigarh. After this, he went to Sainik School in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh. Commandant Viplav had joined the army in the year 2001. After this, he did MSc in Defense Studies. After which, he was promoted and posted in the Assam Rifles.