Grief galore at march for slain CRPF men
NEW DELHI: Scores of candles flickered in the inner circle of Connaught Place on Sunday as residents of the city gathered to pay homage to the 40 CRPF personnel, who were killed in the Pulwama terror attack.
The prayer meet, organised by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), was attended by Minister of State (Home) Kiren Rijiju, New Delhi Member of Parliament Meenakshi Lekhi besides the NDMC chairman, the NDMC secretary and other council members.
Those present at the event lit candles and paid their tributes to the slain jawans, echoing a common demand for action against the perpetrators. “Paki- stan should be taught in their language and something like surgical strike should be carried out again,” Vikas Gupta, a civil services aspirant, said.
Amid reverberations of patriotic slogans, many in the crowd also questioned the failure of intelligence agencies.
“Our jawans died because of some traitors who conspired to give shape to this dastardly attack. How did the terrorists know that the convoy would pass at that particular time and how could a car with over 200 kg of explosives even pass through,” Hansraj Gupta, a primary school teacher, said.
Maninder Kaur (37), a woman who joined the meet while passing by, said politicians of the country should take these attacks more seriously.
“I think it should be made mandatory for political aspirants to serve at the border before contesting the elections.”
“This is a difficult time for the country and the meet was organised so that people could collectively express their sorrow,” an NDMC spokesperson maintained.