Our Correspondent

UNA, October 27

The mortal remains of Lance Naik Brajesh Kumar were consigned to flames in his native Nanavin village in Bangana of the district with full military and state honours.

The soldier, deployed with the 22 Rashtriya Rifles, had made the supreme sacrifice in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, two days ago during a militant attack.

An Army helicopter, carrying the body of the soldier from Jalandhar, landed at the playground of Government Senior Secondary School, Thanakalan, this morning. The martyr had studied in the school and used to play here. He had also participated in the state school kho-kho tournaments.

Teachers and students lined up on both sides of the road to pay their respects. The coffin, draped in the National Flag, was taken to his house for the last rites to be performed by family members and relatives. Brajesh’s wife Shweta and his mother almost fainted when the body reached home. They were consoled by relatives and locals. Brajesh also leaves behind a six-year-old daughter.

Amid slogans of “Amar Shaheed Brajesh and Vande Mataram”, Army officers carried the body for the last journey to the cremation ground where soldiers gave a gun salute. Local MLA and Rural Development Minister Virender Kanwar, BJP state president Satpal Singh Satti and DC Rakesh Prajapati laid wreaths on behalf of the state government and the district administration.

Recruited into the Army’s 14 Punjab Regiment in 2003, Brajesh was known to be a braveheart. He had returned to Jammu and Kashmir about 20 days ago for duty after spending some time with the family here.

Virender Kanwar later handed over a cheque for Rs 5 lakh on behalf of the state government to the soldier’s widow.

He said the state government had decided to give government job to one member of the family, besides bearing the entire expenditure of the martyr’s daughter education. He said a gate in memory of the soldier would be install at the entrance of the village, adding that a village link road would also be named after him.