Jagatsinghpur/Cuttack: Amid tears and cries of revenge, the two bravehearts of Jagatsinghpur district and Ratanpur village in Cuttack district, who were martyred in Pulwama terror attack February 14, were consigned to flames in their respective villages with full state honours.
Thousands of people, including Government officials and patriots walked to the funeral grounds to pay their last respect to the two bravehearts – Manoj Behera of Ratanpur and Prasanna Sahu of Shikhar.
The atmosphere was emotionally surcharged in both the villages with chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Shaheed Jawan Amar Rahe’, when the mortal remains of the departed souls were taken to the funeral grounds in a grand procession.
Soon after the mortal remains reached their villages, thousands of inconsolable people paid their last tributes to the slain jawans.
While 16-year-old Jagan lit the funeral pyre of his martyred father Prasanna Sahu at a cremation ground in Ratanpur village, slain CRPF jawan Manoj Behera’s younger brother lit his funeral pyre at Shikhar village.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) contingents and Odisha Police gave a guard of honour to the two martyrs ahead of last rites, attended by ministers, political leaders and local officials along with hundreds of people.
Among those who attended the cremation included Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Jual Oram, State Health Minister Pratap Jena and Finance Minister Sashi Bhusan Behera, local MLAs, District Collectors, police and CRPF officials.
Earlier in the day, the two CRPF Jawans were given a guard of honour from the CRPF and State Police at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar after their bodies arrived in a special aircraft.
Moreover, the district administration also handed over a cheque of Rs 25 lakh to the family members of the martyred jawan as ex-gratia which was earlier announced by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
The IPS Association of Odisha yesterday condemned the Pulwama terrorist attack. The association members have decided to contribute one day’s salary for supporting the bereaved families of the CRPF personnel who were martyred in a terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama Thursday.
PNN
