Major Thapa cremated with military honours

DHARAMSHALA : In the griefstricken hill town of Dharamshala, a steady stream of hundreds of mourning residents bid a tearful adieu to Major Shikhar Thapa, 29, who was allegedly killed by a jawan after being rebuked over using his mobile phone on forward position.

When Major Thapa’s body, draped in the tricolour, was brought for the last rites, a pall of gloom descended on the locality.

Major Thapa was a 71 Armoured Regiment officer, but was attached to the counter-insurgency unit 8 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) close to the Line of Control in Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir. Singh's body was taken by pall bearers in the afternoon to the town crematorium, where he was con signed to the flames with full military honours. Breaking tradition, a large number of women, including the Major’s wife Suvidha and mother Poonam, came to the cremation ground.

Kan gr a deputy commissioner CP Verma and additional super-

intend ent of police Ga ur av Singh laid wreaths on behalf of the state government.

Transport minister GS Bali and former ministers Vijai Singh Mankotia and Kishan Kapoor

also paid tributes to the slain officer. Major Thapa is survived by his father Arvind Thapa, 58, a retired soldier, mother Poonam, 55, wife Suvidha Thapa, 29, and a three-month-old son Suvir.

SHYAM SHARMA/HT Army jawans, officers and relatives take the body of Major Shikhar Thapa, draped in the Tricolour, for his funeral at his native Dari village near Dharamshala on Wednesday.