The body of soldier Dharmendra Shah martyred while fighting terrorists at Bandipora in Jammu and Kashmir recently, was cremated at his paternal village of Pateliya in Kaladhungi with full military honours on Thursday. The martyr’s body was transported by helicopter from Bareilly in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh to Kotabagh from where his companion soldiers brought his body in a coffin draped in the nation tri-colour which was handed over to his family members along with his uniform.
The entire local populace appeared to have arrived at the site with many raising patriotic slogans extolling the supreme sacrifice of the martyred soldier Dharmendra. With thousands of the people converging, the martyr’s body was taken from Kaladhungi to the Siddhbali Shamshan Ghat where it was cremated with fully military honours. His brothers lit his funeral pyre. The brave para-military soldier had undergone his schooling till the intermediate level at Kaladhungi after which he had studied for a BA degree at the MB PG degree college in Haldwani. In his second year of BA, Dharmendra went for recruitment in Pithoragarh and was able to make it into the army. He completed his training at Agra just before the festival of Deepawali in 2012 to become a para-commando. The elder brother of the martyred soldier, Pawan Kumar Shah and Dharmendra’s younger brother Deepak Kumar Shah assist their father Mohan lal Shah in farming.
A large number of people were seen visiting their residence to pay their last respects to the brave soldier on Thursday. A guard of honour and three-round gun salute were also given to the martyr. Apart from the local populace, officials of the administration and police were also among those present on the occasion.