Widow refuses to accept Albert Ekka's urn

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Balamdina Ekka, widow of Param Vir Chakra winner Lance Naik Albert Ekka, on Thursday refused to accept the urn containing soil from the grave of her late husband, questioning its authenticity.

Chief Minister Raghubar Das went to Jharkhand's Gumla district to personally hand over the urn to Ekka's widow.

"Why were we not taken to Agartala where the body of Albert Ekka was laid to rest? How can we accept the urn without verifying the facts?

"The state government should have taken us there and brought the urn," Vincent Ekka, son of Albert Ekka, told the media.

The chief minister handed over the urn to the deputy commissioner of Gumla.

Ekka was martyred during the India-Pakistan War in 1971 at Tripura's Gangasagar and was laid to rest at Dhulki, 15 km from Agartala in Tripura.

Ekka, then with 14 Guards, was awarded the country's highest gallantry award Param Vir Chakra for his conspicuous bravery and dauntless determination in the Battle of Gangasagar on the Eastern Front with then East Pakistan.

The urn, brought here on November 30 from Agartala, was handed over to Chief Minister Raghubar Das, who then took keen interest in handing it over to Ekka's family and directed the district administration to make elaborate arrangements for this.

Earlier on Thursday, Das, along with Governor Draupadi Murmu, garlanded the statue of the martyr at the Albert Ekka Chowk in Ranchi.

Speaking on the occasion, Das said: "He was a true patriot and his life is an inspiration for all of us, especially the youth who should take inspiration from his sacrifice and we should remember that it is the country which comes first."

The urn was placed on a decorated open van and was escorted all the way to Gumla from here.

According to a state government official, a memorial would be built in the district which would be funded by local legislator Shiva Shankar Oraon.