Family members bid adieu to martyr Bakhtawar Singh at Hajipur village in Hoshiarpur on Saturday. Tribune photo

Sanjiv Bakshi

Hajipur (Hoshiarpur), June 17

The body of Naik Bakhtawar Singh, who was killed in cross-border firing in Nowshera sector of Jammu and Kashmir yesterday, was cremated with military honours at his native village Hajipur today.During the funeral procession, his widow Jasveer Kaur raised slogans against Pakistan. The martyr’s eldest son Sukhwinder Singh (11) lit the pyre. After the “antim ardas”, a contingent of the Armyreversed their firearms and fired gunshots in the air as a mark of respect to the martyr.Bakhtawar’s father Pritam Singh, daughter Jaspreet Kaur (9) and nine-month-old son Maninder Singh along with area residents and representatives of social, religious and political organisations paid tributes to the martyr.Also present were MLA Rajneesh Kumar Babby, BJP vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna, former MP Santosh Chaudhary and AAP leader Sukkhan Singh Jaggi.Later in the day, Rural Development, Panchayat and Water Supply Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa met his family members.He was accompanied by MLAs Babby, Arun Kumar Dogra, Pawan Kumar Adia and Dr Raj Kumar. Bajwa said Bakhtawar had sacrificed life for the country and made the state proud. He announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for the family and the construction of a memorial gate. He said he would take up the matter of giving a job to a family member with the Chief Minister.