BSF martyr cremated after Yogi’s assurance

Sagar — the BSF soldier who was killed at the line of control (LoC) on Monday — was cremated with full state honours on Wednesday after UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s assured jobs to his children in a late night phone call on Tuesday.

After receiving the body of the slain jawan on Tuesday, Sagar’s family had refused to perform his last rites unless the chief minister visited them and offered his children a job.

The chief minister reportedly promised to visit the family for ‘tehravi’, a ritual held on the 13th day after a person’s death as per to Hindu tradition. He also assured a job to Sagar’s daughter.

UP minister Surya Pratap Sahi, who is an MLA from Deoria where the family is based, arranged the phone call.

“They agreed to cremate the body around 2.30am after the CM spoke to them and assured all possible help. The body was cremated in the morning with full state honours,” sub-divisional magistrate RK Yadav said.

Sagar’s wife Gyanti Devi, son Indrajeet and daughters Monica and Saroj had surrounded the tricolour-draped coffin and did not allow the administration to take it for cremation, initially scheduled for Tuesday. Shahi also promised to build a memorial after Sagar and renaming a crossing in his name. In addition to the ₹20 lakh compensation announced by the Centre, the district administration decided to give ₹6 lakh and the BSF ₹10 lakh to the family.