Lt Gen (retired) KP Dhalasamanta from Odisha passed away at a private hospital in New Delhi on Monday. He was 71 and is survived by his wife Sumananjali Devi and son Pranab Dhalasamanta, Deputy Executive Editor of The Economic Times.
Dhalasamanta, who was battling with cancer, was a former Director General of the Rashtriya Rifles, India’s premier counter insurgency force deployed in Kashmir. 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.
Gen Dhalasamanta had also participated in Operation Blue Star in Punjab. He had commanded an artillery regiment in the Siachen Glacier. During the 1999 Kargil war, he was instrumental in helping deploy the 155mm Bofors guns in difficult conditions.
On retirement, he was made Member of the then newly created Armed Forces Tribunal in Kolkata before settling down in Bhubaneswar since 2014 onwards.
Gen Dhalasamanta has also written several Odia poems and was involved in Odia theatre. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and many other eminent personalities mourned the General’s demise.