Thousands bid adieu to martyr BSF jawan

Koli was cremated with full military honours at his village Dudhgaon in Sangli district of Western Maharashtra this morning.State ministers Chandrakant Patil and Sadabhau Khot were among those who paid tributes to the martyr.

Earlier, his body was taken to his home and later kept at the Karmveer Chowk to enable people pay their last respects.The 28-year-old Koli, who was martyred on October 29, was planning to visit his family in his native village after Diwali.

Koli hailed from a farmer family in Dudhgaon village in Miraj tehsil. He is survived by parents Subhash and Suman, younger brother, wife Samapada and two sons - Devraj (4) and Yuvraj (2).

He had come home around six months ago and was to come on leave again on November 5. The family was eagerly waiting for him.Before he joined BSF in 2008, Koli worked as a manual labourer to pay for his education till 12th standard and also to financially support the family.

Recently, he had helped his brother to buy a van so that he could start a small business, a family member said.