BHOPAL: Ten thousand voices shouted ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ as Armyman Karnveer Singh’s mortal remains were cremated at his native village, Daldal, in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district. Karnveer, of the Rajput Regiment, was martyred battling terrorists in Cheerbagh area of Shopian district in Jammu and Kashmir on October 20.
It was his birthday. Two terrorists who had murdered migrant labourers were gunned down in the encounter.
His father, Army veteran Ravi Singh, has been a symbol of fortitude since Karnveer’s martyrdom, refusing to shed a tear. “My son took the bullets in his chest. Life and death go on.
I am proud of what he has done for the country,” he told media persons. “Anyone who becomes a martyr is someone’s son, brother or husband. Being in the Army, I have experienced it,” he added. CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan said: “I salute such a father who has not shed a drop of tear. I salute this family, and the mother who nurtured such a lion heart.”
CM: Satna martyr made state & nation proud, killed 2 terrorists on his b’day
The chief minister spent almost the entire day in the village and was visibly moved. “The soldier has made the state and nation proud. On his birthday, he killed two terrorists before being martyred,” the chief minister said.
The government will give a ‘samman nidhi’ of Rs 1 crore to the martyr’s family and his brother will be given a government job, the chief minister announced. “A statue of Karnveer will be installed at Daldal village. And as per the wish of the family, an organisation will be named after the martyr,” Chouhan said.
Karnveer’s body was flown from J&K to Delhi, then Prayagraj, before making the final 160km journey to Daldal village early Friday morning.
People had started gathering in the village since dawn to pay their last respects to the soldier. By forenoon, the number had swelled past 10,000 —far more than the village population.
Shouts of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Shaheed Karnveer Amar Rahe” echoed incessantly all day. Some shouted slogans against Pakistan.
An Army honour guard gave the martyr a gun salute as his brother lit the pyre.
