A pall of gloom had descended on the entire Guvvalakuntla village as the body of a jawan, P. Shiva Gangadhar, arrived on Monday morning.
The twenty-eight-year-old jawan died when the vehicle he was travelling in plunged into a gorge, on the India-China border in Leh on Friday.
An ITI diploma holder, Shiva Gangadhar had joined the Army in 2017 and was married in November last year. His parents Chakali Ramudu and Ramulamma, were inconsolable as they said Shiva, their only son, was to come home this month and had planned to take his wife to his place of posting.
Many from Kothapalli mandal in the district and other far-flung areas arrived in the village to pay their last respects to the jawan. District Collector G. Veerapandian and Superintendent of Police Fakkeerappa Kaginelli laid wreaths on the coffin and consoled the family members. The Army personnel carried the coffin on their shoulders, and he was laid to rest in his native village.
Atmakur Deputy Superinetendent of Police(DSP) Yerraguntla Shruthi oversaw the arrangements for the funeral of the jawan.
