Thousands gather to bid farewell to Major Chitresh Singh Bisht in Dehradun

Amid chants of "Amar rahe ... amar rahe ... shaheed jawan amar rahe", thousands of people bid an emotional adieu to Major Chitresh Singh Bisht in Dehradun on Monday.

Major Bisht lost his life on February 16 while defusing an improvised explosive device (IED) in a mine across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district.

Leading the Bomb Disposal Team, Bisht, a part of the Army's Corps of Engineers, successfully defused one mine. However, he died while neutralising another mine as the device got activated.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat was present during the last rites and offered condolences to the family.

Major Bisht's final journey was conducted amidst "Hindustan Zindabad" and anti-Pakistan slogans.

The deceased was to return home next month for his marriage in Dehradun on March 7. His father, who is a retired police officer, was engaged with his son's marriage preparations when he received the news of his son's death.

Two days before the incident, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy, on its way to Srinagar from Jammu, was attacked in Awantipora area of Pulwama district by terrorists, which claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans.

Around 2,500 personnel were travelling in 78 vehicles on February 14 which were part of the convoy when the incident occurred.