Amid chants of  “Amar rahe, Amar rahe”,”Vande Matram” and  "Bharat mata ki jai", the two bravehearts from the Buldhana district of Maharashtra who were among those killed in Thursday's Pulwama terror attack were accorded a tearful adieu on Saturday, even as the police resorted to mild lathi charge to quell crowds protesting against the Pulwama mayhem.

From New Delhi, the mortal remains of the two CRPF jawans are —Sanjay Rajput (45) of Malkapur and Nitin Rathod (39)—were brought in a special IAF plane to Aurangabad from where the bodies taken in helicopters to two towns of Buldhana district in eastern Maharashtra.

While Rajput was cremated in his home town of Malkhapur, the last rites of Rathod were performed in his native town of Lonar,

A pall of gloom had descended on these towns of Buldhana district, soon after the news reached them from Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on Thursday evening. Heart-wrenching scenes were witnessed in the two towns as the corteges carried the bodies draped in national tricolour passed through the roads there. Thousands of people joined the final journey of the two brave hearts.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had on Friday announced an assistance of Rs 50 lakh each to the families of the two brave hearts.

Meanwhile, in Mumbai’s satellite towns of  Virar, Nala Sopara, Vasai and adjoining Mira Road, the protests against the Pulwama terror attack turned violent, prompting the police to resort to mild lathi-charge. 

Some groups of people staged a sit-in dharna on the railway tracks at Nala Sopara and blocked all suburban and long-distance trains during the morning peak hours.

The blockade of trains lasted for nearly four hours till 1 pm, resulting in major disruption in service.

The local police, GRP and RPF rushed to the site and attempted to pacify the squatters, but they did not succeed for quite some time. With no alternative, the police resorted to a mild caning to disperse the mobs. After the lathi-charge, the crowds dispersed paving way for resumption in train services on the western railway.

In a related development,  hundreds of people carrying placards and banners, staged protests in Mumbai’s satellite towns of Virar, Nala Sopara, Vasai and adjoining Mira Road in Thane district. They raised anti-Pakistan and anti-terror slogans.