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elder brother Bhushan, who is with the Maratha Light Infantry, that the 22-yearold was missing.

On Friday, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that “all attempts are being made to secure” the release of Chavan. Hours later, while waiting for his wife’s body to be brought home for the funeral, and with no reply yet from the Pakistani side to India’s enquiries on Chavan, Sonawane refused to give up hope.

“I spoke to Union Minister of State for Defence Dr Subhash Bhamare, who is our local Lok Sabha MP. He has assured me that Chandu will be brought home safely within 2-3 months,” he told The Indian Express.

The grandfather, who spent the evening sitting in silence with visiting politicians as he waited for the hearse carrying his wife’s body to arrive, has also been told that Maharahstra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was in Delhi and had spoken to the Home Minister about Chavan.

Home Ministry sources said that Singh later spoke to Chavan’s brother, offering condolences on his grandmother’s death and assuring that the government was “doing its best” to secure his brother’s release.

Born in 1994 in Jamner taluka of Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district, Chavan lost his father in 1997 and his mother in 2000. His maternal grandparents brought the boys to Mohadi village, next door to Borvihir. The brothers also have a sister, who is married in Indore and due to deliver a baby any day now.

“Right from when he was a boy, Chandu was keen to join the military. After and 20 seconds, said friends.

“He is a boxer, too, in his paltan and had won at a few tournaments,” said Nitin Patil, who was recruited in the Army in 2004 and is home on vacation for two months from the Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) corps.

“I met him during recruitment and we kept in touch. He is a complete one-man show. Even during a break in his village, he goes on a run at 4 am, alone,” said Nitin.

Other youths in Borvihir and Mohadi said that every time Chavan was home, he’d tell them to work hard and get into the Army. “He was very specific that he wanted to be in the Army, not Navy or Air Force,” said Sandip Patil from Mohadi.

Chavan’s grandfather, meanwhile, says the family had been hoping to get him married next year. A prospective bride’s relatives had even come to visit the last time Chavan was here a few months ago, he said.

Around 7.40 pm, Lilabai’s body was brought into Borvihir, accompanied by local politicians and Bhushan, who broke downonseeinghisgrandfatherandfriends.

Inthevillageofabout7,000people,families kept their porch LED lights on for the large crowd to see in the dark. Groups of villagersspokeinhushedwhispers,discussing the“war”alongthelocandlilabai’sdemise.

Chavan’s paternal uncles Madhukar and Dinkar Patil as well as other relatives also gathered in Borvihir. “We hope the government will do something to bring him back soon,” said Madhukar, who retired from the State Reserve Police Force.

(WITH INPUTSFROM ENS/DELHI)