The mortal remains of a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) who died in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir were consigned to flames at his native village in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district on Tuesday.
A resident of Barnog village in Nachan Assembly constituency, Naib Subedar Rakesh Kumar of 2 Para (Special Forces) was killed while three other commandos were injured in the gunfight that broke out on Sunday in Kishtwar.
The mortal remains of the martyr were brought to Mandi in a helicopter on Monday evening. The body was kept in the mortuary of Lal Bahadur Shastri Medical College, Nerchowk and later brought to his native village for performing the last rites.
Kumar’s family was inconsolable when the body reached the village. His seven-year-old son Parnav lit the pyre as
Amid slogans of “Shahid Rakesh Kumar amar rahe” (long live martyr Rakesh Kumar) renting the air, thousands of people, including Mandi Deputy Commissioner Mandi Apoorv Devgan, and other officials paid their respect to the fallen soldier.
Kumar is survived by his 33-year-old wife Bhanupriya, daughter Yashshwani (13), son Parnav and mother Bhati Devi (90).
The JCO’s brother Karam Singh said, “My brother’s dream of constructing a new house remains unfulfilled. He came home on a leave one-and-a-half months back and had promised to start the construction of the new house in January next year.”
“Our 10-room house was damaged during the monsoon last year and his family was living in a rented house,” Singh said.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri have expressed deep sorrow over the martyrdom of Naib Subedar Kumar.
In a statement issued here on Monday, the chief minister said, “The nation will forever honour the ultimate sacrifice of this brave soldier”
Dy CM Agnihotri said,”The nation and the state will always be indebted for the selfless and supreme sacrifice of this brave son.”
