Former actor and beauty queen Celina Jaitly shared a deeply emotional message on Army Day, dedicating it to her brother Major Vikrant Kumar Jaitly, who has been detained in Abu Dhabi since September last year.
What's Happening
- In a lengthy social media post, Celina reflected on the sacrifices made not just by soldiers, but also by their families. She began by writing, "#armyday Families serve too, just without medals."
- Recalling a visit to her brother's unit in the valley, she shared a memory linked to a fallen officer.
- She said, "This photo was taken on one of my visits to Bhai's unit in the valley. He had just returned from a long mission. For this photo, one of the officers who was martyred shortly after this photo on a mission, placed his own para beret on my head... He smiled & said, 'Ma'am, our families stand behind us & pay an equal price of bravery while we stand at the front.'"
- Celina also revealed that she chose to share a letter her brother had written to her in 2000, when he had just entered the armed forces.
- "Today, I share a letter bhai wrote to me in 2000. I chose this letter because it captures something profound, the mindset of a young boy, newly out of school, already born to serve his country," she wrote.
- Detailing his early years, she added that he joined the army through technical entry after school and went on to study engineering at the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering in Mhow. "He was barely 18 plus, playful, trying to hook me up too, yet already carrying responsibility & purpose," she wrote, adding that the letter reflected a young man who had already accepted that his life belonged to the nation.
- Calling her brother a fourth-generation soldier, Celina wrote, "Maj Vikrant is a 4-gen soldier, born, as we say in our family, with ammunition boots on his feet."
- She also reflected on the personal losses her family has faced over the years, writing about returning to her family home filled with memories of her parents, Colonel Jaitly and Dr Meeta, her brother, and their pets.
- She further noted that her brother went on to serve with 3 Para SF, earned the Chief of Army Staff's Commendation Card, and served with UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon.
- "This letter reminds me that a soldier is forged long before the uniform, long before the medal, & long before the battlefield," she wrote.
Background
Meanwhile, the legal battle surrounding Major (Retd.) Vikrant Kumar Jaitly's detention continues. The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to the Central government, directing it to file a status report within four weeks. The court has also ordered the appointment of a nodal officer to coordinate communication and assistance for him.
Celina had earlier approached the High Court seeking legal and medical aid for her brother from Indian authorities, alleging that he had been abducted and detained in Abu Dhabi for the past 14 months without proper access to legal or medical support.
Her counsel Raghav Kacker told ANI, "A nodal officer has been appointed to help the petitioner and her brother communicate, to give him effective legal assistance, to keep us updated on the case status... These steps will help us secure his release. This will go a long way in strengthening the ties between the UAE and India. He was our major general from our army, a special forces officer and the government is going to issue a status report directing the steps they want to start taking."
He also stated that details surrounding the detention remain unclear.
Separately, Celina is also involved in a domestic dispute with her husband, Peter Haag. In November last year, she filed a domestic violence case against him, alleging emotional, physical, sexual and verbal abuse. As per reports, she has sought Rs 100 crore in compensation and Rs 10 lakh per month as maintenance.
The couple, who had been married for 15 years, appeared before a metropolitan magistrate's court in Andheri in December. Both parties have been directed to file their income affidavits by January 27. Peter Haag has also been asked to respond to the complaint filed under the Domestic Violence Act.