Amid wails and cries of her mother and other relatives, 14-year-old Tanvi Rajput — daughter of Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) Sukhdev Singh — fought back tears and expressed her resolve to join the Army to fulfill her father’s dream. Patriotic fervor gripped Peoni village on Tuesday as local residents joined the family to bid a tearful adieu to Subedar Singh, who laid down his life for the country. His mortal remains were consigned to flames with full military honours amid chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai”. The JCO, a Kargil war veteran, sacrificed his life for the country in cross-border firing by Pakistan along the Line of Control (LoC) in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district on Monday. “My father wished me to do well in studies and also to become a shooter. I will fulfill his dream and join the Army as an officer,” Rajput, a class 8 student, told reporters. The village reverberated with anti-Pakistan and anti-China slogans throughout the day as the villagers waited for the mortal remains of the deceased which were later consigned to flames with full military honours. “He was here on leave recently, on Raksha Bandhan (August) and had promised me that he will start my training in shooting when I reach class 10,” Rajput said in a choked voice while struggling to hold back her tears. A wreath laying ceremony was held at Rajouri before the body of the deceased kept in a tricolor wrapped coffin was transported to Udhampur in a helicopter and then taken to his village in Majalta tehsil by road. A ‘Tiranga’ (tricolor) rally was also taken out by the local youth as a mark of respect to the deceased.
