Slain Mandeep Singh's hometown decides not to celebrate Diwali

The residents of Anthedi village in Haryana's Kurukshetra, which is the hometown of slain soldier Mandeep Singh who lost his life after an attack near the Line of Control (LoC), will neither burst crackers, nor decorate their residences with hanging lights this Diwali.

Instead, they will only light a single 'diya' (oil lamp) at their respective homes.

"No one will celebrate Diwali this year. Our entire village mourns the death of Mandeep Singh. Only one candle will be lit in every house for the peace of the soul of our martyrs, we are really proud of them," Subhash Chandra, sarpanch of the village, told ANI.

Mandeep is the second soldier from Kurukshetra to be killed in the ongoing cross-border violence. His body reached the Ambala Military Hospital last evening. His last rites will be performed on Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar this morning met with the family members of the braveheart.

Sepoy Mandeep Singh, who died in the attack, was 27 years old. The attack took place under cover fire provided by the Pakistan Army. One terrorist was killed in the strike. Terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, on Friday night crossed the LoC and killed Singh and mutilated his body in Machil Sector of Kupwara district.

The attack came hours after the Border Security Force (BSF) said 15 Pakistani soldiers had been killed in retaliatory firing by the Indian troops after ceasefire violation along the international border in Jammu and Kashmir.