Martyred soldiers given tearful adieu

Jaipur/ Jammu/Kangra: The mortal remains of soldier Surendra Kumar, who was martyred in the Pakistani attack on the Udhampur airbase, were consigned to flames with full military honours at his native village in the Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan on Sunday.

A large number of mourners gathered to bid farewell to the brave soldier.

Surendra Kumar, an assistant medical sergeant in the Indian Air Force, lost his life in the attack on the Udhampur airbase.

His body was brought to his hometown by road, with a ‘Tiranga Yatra’ being held from Mandawa to his village Mehradasi.

Eight-year-old Daksh, Surendra’s son, lit the funeral pyre. Thousands of people attended the last rites, raising the slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Surendra Kumar Amar Rahe.”

Standing near her husband’s body, Surendra’s wife repeatedly cried out, “I love you,” while saluting with a trembling hand.

Meanwhile, Rifleman Sunil Kumar (25), who succumbed to grievous injuries sustained in Pakistani shelling, was given a tearful adieu with hundreds of mourners joining his last rites in his village near the zero line here.

Posted with 4-JAKLI (Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry regiment), he was critically injured in cross-border shelling along the International border in RS Pura sector early Saturday and later breathed his last.

He belonged to a military background with his two elder brothers also serving in the armed forces and his father an ex-serviceman.

Emotional scenes were witnessed when his family members, including parents, requested the last glimpse of the martyred soldier. The body was later taken to Parmandal, where the cremation took place with full military honours.

In Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra, Subedar Major Pawan Kumar, who was also killed in shelling by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pooch, was cremated with full state honours on Sunday.

Emotional scenes were witnessed as his son lit the funeral pyre. His family members, friends and a large number of mourners bid him tearful adieu amid slogans of “Subedar Major Pawan Kumar Amar rahe” and “Pakistan Murdabad”.

Pawan Kumar’s body, wrapped in tricolour, reached Shahpur from Jammu around 1 pm on Sunday and cries of the bereaved family members rent the air.