The last rites of a 21-year-old army jawan, killed in shelling by Pakistan, were performed at his village in Maharashtra today with full military honours.
Sepoy Shubham Suryakant Mustapure was killed after Pakistani troops fired mortar bombs at forward posts along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday,
The soldier's mortal remains reached his village Konerwadi in Parbhani district early today from Aurangabad.
The flight carrying the remains landed at Aurangabad airport last evening, from where they were taken by road to the village for the last rites.
The soldier's cremation was performed with full military honours.
A large crowd of mourners from the village and adjoining villages had gathered for the cremation. Slogans like "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" rent the air as his body was being consigned to flames.
Among those present at the cremation was Babanrao Lonikar, a minister in the BJP-led government in Maharashtra.
"Shubham recently called his parents and informed them he will be coming home in two days. Today, we received his body, draped in tricolour," a relative of the soldier said.
The jawan, who was a bachelor, is survived by parents and grandparents and two younger brothers. While one brother studies in Gangakhed in Parbhani district, another studies at Ahmedpur in Latur district, the kin said.
When Shubham was recruited in the Army two years ago, after completing his 12th class, he had treated the entire village to a grand feast, the relative said.
The soldier's father owns one and a half acres of farm and also supplements his income through tailoring.
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