KATHUA: Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on Saturday joined thousands of mourners to bid adieu to three Army personnel whose bodies were brought to their hometowns in Kathua and Jammu districts from Arunachal Pradesh for their last rites, officials said.
The mortal remains of Havildar Jugal Kishore of village Dori-Dager in Akhnoor and Rifleman Vishal Sharma of Chakmalal-Khour in Jammu and Rifleman Arun Kuttal of village Jandore-Lakhanpur in Kathua were consigned to flames with full military honours in their respective villages, the officials said.
The three soldiers were among seven Army personnel who were struck by an avalanche in a high-altitude area in the Kameng sector of Arunachal Pradesh on February 6.
Their bodies were recovered by rescue teams from an altitude of 14,500 feet above sea level two days later. Chanting slogans in praise of the deceased soldiers and the country, senior civil, police and army officers besides politicians laid wreaths at their coffins.
“The Kathua district has lost one of its sons in the service of the nation,” Singh, the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s office, told reporters after paying tributes to Rifleman Kuttal at his home town in Kathua district. He said it takes a lot of effort and training to become a soldier who performs his duties for the country at the risk of his life.
He expressed his sympathies with the bereaved family and assured them that the entire country, government and the BJP stand with them at this hour of grief.
The Union minister, however, was critical of “some people” in the country who do not respect the sacrifice of jawans for the country.
