Jaisalmer/Lucknow: The mortal remains of seven soldiers, who were among those killed in a road accident in Sikkim on Friday, were consigned to flames with full military honours in their respective villages in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Three of the soldiers, Subedar Guman Singh, Lance Naik Manoj Yadav and soldier Sukha Ram, were from Rajasthan's Jaisalmer, Jhunjhunu and Jodhpur districts, respectively.
The bodies of Subedar Guman Singh arrived at Jaisalmer air force station from Delhi, from where it was taken to Joga village in a decorated military truck, police said. A large number of locals reached the air force station and raised slogans like 'Guman Singh Amar Rahe' and 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'.
His funeral was conducted in the village in the presence of thousands of people. In Jodhpur, the body of Sukha Ram was taken from Jodhpur airport to Sawantkua village in Khedapa, nearly 50 kms from the district headquarters. People in large numbers accompanied the military truck in which the body was taken from the airport to his village.
A 'tiranga yatra' was taken out in Jhunjhunu when the mortal remains of Lance Naik Manoj Yadav were taken from Pacheri Kalana police station to Majri village, covering a distance of nearly 3 kms. Youths of the village led the yatra. Yadav's funeral was attended by a large number of people, police said.
A similar scene was witnessed in Uttar Pradesh as well. The mortal remains of four soldiers -- Havildar Charan Singh of Lalitpur, Bhupendra Singh of Etah, Shaheed Shyam Singh Yadav of Unnao and Lokesh Rai of Muzaffarnagar -- were cremated with state honours in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday.
Officers, police personnel and army personnel offered flowers and paid homage to the soldiers with moist eyes. Earlier on Saturday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paid tribute to army personnel who died in the mishap and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh each to the families of all the deceased.
CM Yogi paid tribute to the four soldiers. He also announced a government job for one family member of each soldier. He also stated that a road in the Lucknow district shall be named after the martyrs. The Chief Minister has assured all possible help to the families of the soldiers on behalf of the Uttar Pradesh Government.
As many as 16 Indian Army personnel lost their lives on Friday in a road accident in North Sikkim involving an Army truck, said the Indian Army. According to the Indian Army, the ill-fated vehicle was part of a three-vehicle convoy from Chatten in the morning towards Thangu. En route at Zema, the car skidded down a steep slope while negotiating a sharp turn.
The Indian Army launched a rescue operation in which four injured soldiers were air evacuated, while three Junior Commissioned Officers and 13 soldiers succumbed to the injuries sustained in the accident.
