Longewala battle hero Brig Chandpuri cremated with state honours

The mortal remains of Brigadier Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri (Retd), the hero of Longewala battle during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, were consigned to flames with state and military honours Monday.

Large number of civil and military dignitaries turned up to pay their last respects to Brig Chandpuri, an awardee of Mahavir Chakra, the country's second-highest gallantry award, for his heroic deeds at the Longewala battle, an outpost in the Thar desert of Rajasthan.

Western Army Commander Lt Gen Surinder Singh and Chief of Staff Lt Gen P M Bali of the Western Command Headquarters placed wreaths on the body of the departed war hero to pay homage to him.

Wreaths were also placed by the veterans of 23 Punjab Regiment, Punjab's ex-servicemen cell and many other military and civil organisations, a defence release said here..

Brig Chandpuri, whose heroic deeds during the Longewala battle inspired the making of the 1977 Bollywood classic, 'Border', died Saturday in a private hospital at Mohali. He was 78.