Maha: Martyred soldier cremated with military honours

The last rites of Indian Army soldier Naik Sandip Raghunath Sawant, who was killed in a counter-insurgency operation in Jammu and Kashmir, were performed at his native village in Maharashtra's Satara district on Friday.

The funeral, held with military honours at Mundhe village, was attended by locals and political leaders who paid floral tributes to the martyred soldier.

Sawant (29) and Rifleman Arjun Thapa Magar (25) were killed when the Army foiled an infiltration bid by heavily armed terrorists along the Line of Control (LoC) at Nowshera in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Wednesday.

With slogans of 'Sandip Sawant Amar Rahe', 'vande mataram' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai', people bid adieu to the soldier, whose infant daughter was also present at the funeral.

Sawant and his wife were blessed with a baby girl recently and he had come home for his daughter's naming ceremony, having returned to his posting just 15 days ago, one of the deceased soldier's relatives had said.

Apart from district officials, Member of Parliament from Satara Srinivas Patil and other local politicians attended the funeral.