Thousands bid farewell to army man martyred in Uni attacks

Led by Maj S K Mahapatra, a team of 50 armymen came here with the coffin carrying the body of Sepoy Biswajit Gharai

The mortal remains of Sepoy Biswajit Gharai, who was martyred in Sunday's terrorist attack at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir, were today consigned to flames with full state honours today.

As the sounds of gun salute by 12 armymen reverberated in the area, the 22-year-old martyr's mother Rekha Gharai, who came to the cremation ground from Sridham village, fainted.

His father Rabindranath Gharai, a farmer, managed to control his emotion and said, "My younger son died while protecting the honour of the country. We are grief stricken, but the country's security is much more important."

Thousands of people from nearby areas congregated in the area where the martyr's body was brought in a helicopter from Kolkata.

Led by Maj S K Mahapatra, a team of 50 armymen came here with the coffin carrying the body of Gharai.

On behalf of the state government, Fire and Emergency Services and Environment Minister Shobhan Chatterjee placed a wreath on the coffin covered by the tricolour.

Chatterjee said he would propose to the government that the nearby temporary fire brigade station be named after Biswajit Gharai.

Superintendent of Police Sunil Chowdhury, Sub-divisional Officer Rahul Nath and other officials and people's representatives were also present there.

The late Sepoy was survived by his parents, a brother and a sister.

His two cousins were also in the Army and posted in Uri army base which was stormed by suspected militants of Pakistan-based JeM in the wee hours of Sunday.