Maharashtra bids tearful adieu to two troopers killed in Kashmir attack

Amidst slogans of 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', Maharashtra on Saturday bid a tearful adieu to the two CRPF troopers from the state who were among the 49 killed in the Pulwama suicide attack on Thursday.

The mortal remains of Nitin Rathod, 39, of Chorpangra village and Sanjay Rajput, 45, from Malkapur village, both in Buldhana district in Vidarbha, were brought to Aurangabad by a special flight from New Delhi and later taken to their native villages for last rites.

Huge crowds of mourners lined both sides of the roads, in buildings and on rooftops, many waving the national tricolour, as their funeral corteges entered their villages.

Led by their families, relatives, friends and others, teary-eyed mourners queued up to pay their final respects to the two departed troopers, offering flowers or garlands.

All along, the crowds raised slogans of 'Nitin Rathod Amar Rahe', 'Sanjay Rajput Amar Rahe', and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' as the grieving families of both the troopers arrived for the last rites.

Both were accorded a funeral with full state honours with several civil, police and military officials, local elected representatives and people from adjoining villages in attendance.

Hailing from a farming family, Rathod, 36, joined the security forces in 2006, and two years later in 2008, he married Vandana. He has two minor children - Jeevan, 8 and Jivika, 5 - besides aged farmer parents Shivaji Rathod and Savitribai.

Joining the paramililtary forces almost 20 years ago, Rajput is survived by his wife Sushma and their two sons - Jai, 13 and Shubham, 11.

The Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust, Shirdi in Ahmednagar announced a compensation of Rs 2.51 crore to each of the families of the 49 martyred troopers.

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan also announced a donation of Rs 500,000 to each of the troopers' families.

Chairman of Mumbai-based Siddhi Vinayak Temple Trust Adesh Bandekar announced Rs 51 lakh for the troopers besides other help to their families.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had Friday announced a compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the families of Rathod and Rajput, besides taking care of both the families' rehabilitation.

--IANS

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