Pall of gloom at 2 soldiers' villages after Pak attack

Wrapped in tri-colour, the caskets containing the bodies of Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh were being brought to their villages, a day after the soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated at a forward post in Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir that has triggered an outrage.

Hemraj(29) hailed from Shernagar village in Mathura district in UP while Singh(28) came from Darhia village near Churhat in Sidhi district in neighbouring MP. The jawans belonged to 13 Rajputana Rifles.

The grieving family of Hemraj at Shernagar village were being consoled by relatives amid shouts of "Hemraj amar rahey".

"We are proud of the son of our village. We are united at this moment of grief," said Hemraj's uncle outside the home of the soldier. He said Hemraj laid down his life in service of the nation.

Singh is survived by wife Durga Singh and a four-month-old son. He had joined the Indian Army in 2002.

The caskets containing the bodies were first brought to Rajouri from the forward post in Poonch district before being taken in a helicopter to Jammu technical airport. They were then brought to Delhi for the onward journey to the two villages.

Amid a sombre mood, a wreath laying ceremony was held with full military honours at Rajouri airstrip, where Deputy General Officer Commanding (Dy-GOC), Brig J C Tiwari laid the wreaths on the bodies of the jawans.

Leader of Opposition in Madhya Pradesh Assembly Ajay Singh, an MLA from Churhat, said it was very sad that a valiant soldier had lost his life at the hands of Pakistani military men, who committed a brutal act. The whole of MP mourns the loss, he said.

A team of Madhya Pradesh police officials has reached Darhia village to receive the body of Singh.

Pakistani regular soldiers belonging to 29 Baloch regiment crossed into Indian territory across the Line of Control(LoC) in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir yesterday and ambushed an Indian patrol killing two soldiers, one of whom was decapitated. Both the bodies were in a mutilated condition.