Hundreds pay adieu to slain jawan in Telangana

State minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy, Nizamabad MP D. Arvind, Zilla Parishad chairman Vitthal Rao, district collector Narayan Reddy and other officials attended the last rites.

Hyderabad:Hundreds of people in Telangana's Nizamabad district on Wednesday paid tearful adieu to the Army jawan who was killed in an exchange of fire with militants in Kashmir on Sunday.

The funeral procession was taken out from Ryada Mahesh's house in Komanpally to the village outskirts, where the last rites were performed with military honours.

The entire village and people from neighbouring villages joined the procession and paid their last respects to the brave soldier.

Banners were hung along the procession route to pay tributes to the martyred jawan and hail his supreme sacrifice

State minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy, Nizamabad MP D. Arvind, Zilla Parishad chairman Vitthal Rao, district collector Narayan Reddy and other officials attended the last rites.

The body of Mahesh (26) was brought to the village in the early hours of the day. Family members, relatives and friends paid their last respects.

Earlier, the body was flown into Hyderabad on Tuesday night. Telangana Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan placed a wreath on the mortal remains of Mahesh at Begumpet Airport.

According to a press communique from Raj Bhavan, the governor rushed to the airport to receive the body of martyr Mahesh and paid rich tributes to his supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation.

Paying homage to the martyr, he stated that country is indebted to their supreme sacrifice in protecting the country's safety and sovereignty.

Mahesh was among four security personnel and three militants who were killed during a failed infiltration bid by the militants along the Line of Control in Machil sector of Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir, on Sunday.

Son of a farmer, Mahesh had joined Army five years ago. He had married Suhasini, daughter of an Army officer a year ago.

After completing intermediate (plus two) from a private college in Nizamabad, Mahesh passed a competitive exam and was selected for Army in 2014-15.

After the training, he was posted in Assam and later at Dehradun before being transferred to Jammu and Kashmir.

The government of Telangana on Tuesday announced Rs.50 lakh financial assistance for the family of Mahesh.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also announced that one member of the family based on the qualification would be given the government job. He said a house site would also be allotted to the family of Mahesh.

The CM said Mahesh would be remembered in history as the one who sacrificed his life for the country. He said that the state government would stand by and support the family.

IANS Report