Adieu brave officer

Army personnel carry the mortal remains of Lt Col Niranjan Kumar as his body reached at Palakkad in Kerala on Monday. People bid an emotional farewell to Lieutenant Colonel E K Niranjan, who was killed while defusing a grenade during the terror attack at the Pathankot IAF base, as he was today laid to rest with full military honours at his ancestral home near here. The body of the 32-year-old bomb expert with the National Security Guard was buried on the premises of his paternal home at Elambulassery here, amidst chanting of ‘Hare Rama Hare krishna’ mantras. He was accorded full military honours, including gun salute as Army personnel sounded the bugle. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala represented the state government at the funeral ceremony. Niranjan’s father E K Sivarajan and his other relatives were among those present at the programme. Earlier in the day, the body was kept at the KUP School where hundreds of people, including school children, lined up to pay their homage.