SURYAPET: A mournful but proud residents of Suryapet turned up in large numbers to bid adieu to
Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu who was cremated 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.
Thousands of people wearing masks took part in the
funeral procession, while scores of others — standing on the balconies of their houses — showered flowers on the
Army vehicle which carried the body.
For the flower-bedecked cortege to reach the 5km distance from the slain Colonel’s house in Vidyanagar Colony to the family-owned agriculture land at Kasarabad village, it took nearly two-and-a-half hours.
Father Bikkumalla Upendar performed the last rites of his son in the half an acre farmland on the outskirts of Suryapet. He lighted the funeral pyre after noon with his three-year-old grandson Anirudh Teja placing his hand on him. Col Santosh’s wife Santoshi carried Anirudh during the final rites. The body was draped in the national flag. The Army jawans accorded a gun salute to the slain Colonel.
“All we have now are his memories,” Upendar told TOI after the funeral.
Before the last journey began, a large number of people who came to Col Santosh’s house in the morning were allowed to have a glimpse of the martyr’s face.
At many places, ‘anti-China’ slogans were raised by people. Slogans like ‘Jai jawan, jai kisan,’ ‘Santosh Babu amar rahe’, ‘Vande Mataram’ rent the air as women, children and elderly people joined the final procession waving the national flag with fervour. Most of the shops and establishments in the town remained closed as a mark of respect to the departed soldier.
Energy minister
Jagadeeshwar Reddy oversaw the funeral arrangements. Leaders of various political parties, including TPCC chief and
Nalgonda MP Uttam Kumar Reddy, laid wreaths on the body.
Col Santosh’s mortal remains were earlier brought to Air Force Station, Hakimpet, on Wednesday in an IAF plane. Later, the body was taken by road to Suryapet, which is 150 km from Hyderabad. At several places along the route, groups of people gathered and showered flower petals on the ambulance carrying the body of Col Santosh.
The ambulance reached Suryapet at 11.40pm but even at that part of the night, a few thousand people gathered at the house to pay their last respects.