Pulwama attack: India mourns and pays respect as bodies of soldiers reach home

Hundreds of people gathered in the hometown of the deceased soldiers to play their respects to the bravehearts as their mortal remains reached since morning.

Bihar is mourning the death of two paramilitary jawans who were killed on Thursday in Pulwama terror attack—the deadliest ever attack on Indian forces in over a decade which left around 40 dead.

Sanjay Kumar Sinha and Ratan Kumar Thakur who laid down their lives for the country hailed from Bihar’s Patna and Bhaglapur districts.

Sanjay was posted with 176th battalion of the CRPF in Jammu and returned to his duty barely a week ago while promising to return home soon.

He had three children, two daughters Ruhi Kumari, 22, Tunni Kumari, 19 and 17-year-old son Sonu Kumar. While both his daughters have passed graduation, his son is preparing for medical examination in Kota.

“He had told me that he will come within 15 days to look for a suitable boy for our eldest daughter. He himself didn’t come but the news of his death came,” his wife Babita Devi, wailing inconsolably at her home as other woman try to console her, told The Bihar Post.

The overall scene is equally gloomy at the village of another dead soldier Ratan Thakur, a resident of Ratanpur village in Bihar’s Kahalgaon block. He was posted with the 45 battalion of the CRPF.

Barely minutes before the attack, Ratan had called up his wife Rajnandini Kumari to inform her that he along with his colleagues was leaving for Srinagar and will reach there by 5 in the evening. But his call never came.

Martyr’s father said he had brought up his son with much care and did everything to ensure that he completed his study.

“Finally, things were going smooth but the destiny will otherwise,” he told the newspaper.

Similar scenes were seen in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh where the body of Ajit Kumar Azad was received by his family members.

The funeral of the slain soldiers will take place on the ghats of Ganges.

People paid their respects to Ramesh Yadav when his body reached Varanasi.

Similar scenes of grief were seen in other parts of the country as well.

PM slams Pakistan again:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday continued his attack on Pakistan for his complicity on the issue of terror and said the western neighbour is on the verge of bankruptcy and is now known all over as an 'alternative name for terrorism'.

"The other name of terrorism is Pakistan today," Prime Minister said assuring the nation that a befitting reply will be given to the perpetrators of the February 14 dastardly act at Pulwama.

"How those responsible for Pulwama attack and the hands behind will be punished, the strategy, scale, time and location of the punishment will be decided our brave Jawans," he said adding the country feels proud of them and also rests immense faith on them.

"The sacrifices made by our forces and CRPF personnel will not go waste. Perpetrators will be punished definitely," he said.

Maintaining that the anguish of the country and CRPF force in particular is understandable and hence the armed forces have been given free hand.

"Dharyia rakhe (Please keep patience.... the wrong doers will be punished)," Modi said.

"A country that came into existence after the partition of India, a country where terrorism is sponsored and promoted, it is a country which is on the brink of economic collapse and bankruptcy- that country has become synonymous with the word terrorism today," he said.

"The martyrdom of our soldiers will not go in vain. The crime committed by the terrorist groups - no matter how much they try to hide, they will be punished," he asserted.

In one of the worst terror attacks on security personnel in recent times, at least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were martyred and 14 others injured when a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) militant (suicide bomber) rammed an IED laden vehicle into the forces' convoy at Awantipora in south Kashmir district of Pulwama on Srinagar-Jammu national highway on Thursday afternoon.

JeM has claimed responsibility for the Fidayeen (suicide) attack even as India slammed Pakistan for giving full freedom to the militant group in its territory to prepare for attacking Indian securitymen.

"This terror group is led by the international terrorist Masood Azhar, who has been given full freedom by Government of Pakistan to operate and expand his terror infrastructure in territories under the control of Pakistan and to carry out attacks in India and elsewhere with impunity," said India in a statement.

Image Credit: UNI and PIB