Warriors laid to rest amid ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ chants

A mournful — and proud — Suryapet, about 140 km from Hyderabad in Telangana, turned up in large numbers to bid adieu to Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu, who was laid to rest with full military honours on Thursday. Amid chants of ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ and ‘Santosh Babu amar rahe,’ the mortal remains of Col Santosh, who was killed by Chinese troops during clashes on June 15, were consigned to flames.
The chants reverberated across the country as the Ladakh martyrs were cremated in their home states.There were teary farewells in many states.
Santosh Babu’s three-year-old son Anirudh Teja saluting the body of his father at the cremation site brought tears to the eyes of people. The fact that her father has died has not sunk into the mind of Col Babu’s eight-year-old daughter Abhigna.
In Bihar, as the procession carrying body of havildar Sunil Kumar winded its way from his village, Tarapur, on the outskirts of Patna, for cremation on Thursday, a sea of mourners gathered on streets and rooftops for a glimpse of the braveheart. Patriotic slogans rent the air.
In Chhattisgarh, Ganesh Ram Kunjam was cremated with state honours at his village in Bastar late Thursday night. Hundreds of tribals from surrounding villages trooped to Kunjam’s native Kurrutola Gidhali hamlet in Kanker district to pay tribute.
In West Bengal’s Suri and Alipurduar, it was a long wait for the families of Havildar Bipul Roy and Sepoy Rajesh Orang.
BJP MP Saumitra Khan, who was at the IAF station to receive Orang’s mortal remains, later said: “There are some procedures that need to be followed. The delay was due to that.”
In Tamil Nadu, the mortal remains of Havildar K Palani were laid to rest at his native Kadakalur village.