Darula villagers call 'maha panchayat' to discuss 'Delhi govt's apathy' in soldier's cremation

The villagers are up in arms against the Delhi government's apathy after the body of a soldier who died of dengue had to be cremated after sprinkling diesel over it due to the heavy rain that drenched the body.

New Delhi: Locals in Darula village, located on the Delhi-Gurugram border, have called a mega panchayat (village meeting) to highlight the government's “apathy” after the death of a soldier from the village last month. Shiv Kumar, a local from Daurala was posted in the 24 Grenadiers in Jaipur and died due to Dengue at the Army's Research and Referral Hospital on September 22.

The body was bought to his village Darula, where the soldier was cremated amid heavy rain with military honors. The villagers said that the deceased soldier did not get the respect he deserved from the government as the body had to be cremated after sprinkling diesel over it due to the heavy rain that drenched the body amid a lack of arrangements by the local authorities for the cremation of a soldier.

Locals said the village has been constantly neglected by the government which was reflected at the soldier's cremation. The Delhi government did not fix the cremation ghat and neither did the local MLA of the Delhi government despite the issue being brought to his notice, ex-Havildar Rajkumar, a localsaid. “We cremated him on his birthday. Neither Gulab Singh nor any of the officials reached here. The scenes at the cremation were so tragic that we had to wade through 2-feet deep rainwater to take him to the pyre,” Rajkumar said.

Ex-havildar, Deewan Singh also flayed the Delhi government for cold-shouldering arrangements at the soldier's cremation. “The Panchayat is against the failure of the Delhi government, CM Kejriwal, and MLA Gulab Singh,” he said.

“The deceased soldier did not get any respect from the government. We want that the government to honor him,” Singh added. Amid the anger of the villagers, the village elders have called a Maha Panchayat in which village headmen and retired army personnel will be present. Mahavir Sinha, a local said that the maha panchayat will be attended by villagers of around 700 localities.

The meeting will discuss the “indifference” shown by the Delhi government during the soldier's cremation and a strategy will be made over the matter. “The soldier died on duty. Although Army paid rich tribute to him, the Delhi government and CM Kejriwal, who makes tall claims over the rehabilitation of soldiers, did not turn up at the soldier's funeral neither did any of his MLAs or workers,” he said.

Significantly, youth in good numbers from the village join the army.