A havildar in the Indian Army, Saroj was recruited in the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) wing of the Indian army in 2012. He is a native of Kendudhipa village of Dighi panchayat under Kamakhyanagar police limits in Dhenkanal district.

Speaking to a local channel, his elder brother Manoj said: “We came to know about the devastating Sikkim flood from news being broadcast on television. This left us worried as we could not reach him over the phone. He had called us around 10 pm on Tuesday night. Later, we received a phone from his unit informing about him being among the missing 23 soldiers. They asked us to be patient and said that the rescue operation was on.”

He said they were in Sikkim for an exercise and the incident took they were returning to the unit. “He had married just 7 months back. Two months back, he had come home and later rejoined duty. He got a promotion this month,” said the inconsolable brother.