Tearful adieu to martyr of Sukma Naxal attack

CRPF jawan Kishan Pal Singh, who lost his life in an ambush by Maoists in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Monday, was cremated with full honours in his paternal village Nagla Dangi in Etah on Wednesday.

Ministers SP Singh Baghel and Atul Garg, officials of CRPF, police department and the district administration also paid tribute to the martyr.

The state government has announced a financial assistance of Rs 31 lakh to Singh’s family out of which a cheque of Rs 25 lakh was handed over to them on Wednesday. The martyr’s body reached Nagla Dandi on Wednesday morning. Ranveer Singh, 85, father of Kishan Pal, broke down on seeing his son’s body and was consoled by DIG, CRPF, JS Sandhu. Women from the village consoled Kishan Pal’s wife Saroj Devi. As Ranveer Singh lit the funeral pyre at 10.15 am, people shouted slogans hailing Kishan Pal’s supreme sacrifice for the country’s security.

Cabinet minister SP Singh Baghel said the cheque of Rs 25 lakh had been handed over to the family. “The state government has announced the relief of Rs 20 lakh for the martyr’s wife and Rs 5 lakh for his father. Additional relief of Rs 6 lakh from the welfare fund will also be provided to the family,” he said.

DIG, CRPF, JS Sandhu handed over Rs 50,000 cash as initial relief for cremation. SSP, Etah, Satyarth Aniruddh Pankaj, district magistrate Amit Kishore and local MLA Satya Pal Singh Rathore also paid floral tribute to the CRPF head constable. The officials promised that a road would be named after the martyr and land would be identified for a cremation ground in the village.