Dantewada: Heart-wrenching scenes unfolded in Gumlanar village here on Tuesday as a 2-month-old son bid a final adieu to his father, Sudarshan Vetti, a Bastar Fighters jawan killed during a Naxalite attack in Bijapur on Monday.
The newborn was made to fire the slain father's pyre and circled twice over it by the family and local community as part of an age-old tradition of ‘pherna’. It’s believed that the practice passes on the valour and courage of the father to the son.
On the occasion, Vetti’s funeral was also given the full state honour while security forces gave the last salute to him during the ceremony, held in his village. It displays the deeply-engraved traditions and values of the community even in times of mourning.
Vetti was killed on Monday (January) 6 when Naxalites detonated an IED during an ambush near Ambeli on the Kutru Bedre road. He was returning to his camp on the successful conclusion of an anti-naxal operation in Abujhmad on January 4 and 5.
The soldier’s family, including his wife and two-month-old child, participated in the official tribute program at Dantewada Police Headquarters, where they also met Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai. Expressing condolences to Vetti’s family, CM Sai praised his bravery and sacrifice.