Pulwama attack: Nitish announces Rs 11 lakh each for Bihar troopers killed

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday announced Rs 11 lakh each for the families of two Bihar troopers who were killed in the Pulwama attack on a Central Reserve Police Force convoy in Jammu and Kashmir.

He also announced a state funeral for Ratan Kumar Thakur, resident of Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district and Sanjay Sinha, resident of Masaurhi in Patna district.

Their bodies arrived earlier at the Patna Airport where the Chief Minister was also present.

The funeral will take place in their respective villages later in the day, a police official said, adding that "they will be given a guard of honour".

A large number of security forces, including those from the Bihar Police, and hundreds of people gathered at the airport and saluted the troopers amid loud chanting of "Amar Sahid" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai".

In the worst-ever terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir since militancy erupted in 1989, a suicide bomber on Thursday rammed his SUV packed with explosives into a CRPF bus on the Jammu-Srinagar highway in Pulwama district, killing at least 40 troopers on the spot, the toll reached 49 on Friday as several injured succumbed.

The attack has left the security establishment stunned as it created the biggest casualty of security personnel in a single day in peace time.

--IANS

ik/mag/in