Thousands of mourners bade an emotional farewell to martyred son-of-the-soil Colonel Sanotsh G Mahadik, as he was cremated with military honours in home village of Pogarwadi in Satara district of west Maharashtra on Thursday, three days after he was killed in an encounter with terrorists in Kupwara district of north Kashmir.
38-year-old Col Mahadik, whose mortal remains were brought to Pogarwadi village in an Army cortege early on Thursday, were consigned to flames, amidst poignant scenes.
A sea of humanity had descended on Pogarwadi village to have last glimpse of the martyred Colonel. The mourners raised slogans like ‘jai jawan, jai kisan’, ‘Col Mahadik amar rahe’, ‘Bharat mata ki jai’, ‘jab tak suraj chand rahega, Col Mahadik, tera naam rahega’ even as his last rites were performed amid a 21-rifle salute. Col Mahadik’s five-year-old son Swaraj lit his father’s funeral pyre.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and other dignitaries paid homage to Col Mahadik and offered sympathies to his family members, including parents, his wife Swati, 11-year-old daughter Katikee, a five-year-old son Swaraj, mother Kalinda and brothers.
Among others present at Col Mahadik’s were senior Shiv Sena Minister Eknath Shinde, Satara district Guardian Minister Vijay Shivtare and NCP MP Udyanraje Bhosale.
Earlier, the body of Col Mahadik, which had been flown from Uddhampur on Wednesday, was taken to Satara district hospital first and later to his maternal grandfather village of Aaredhare, where it was kept for public darshan for a couple of hours before it was taken to his home village of Pogarwadi for cremation.
Parrikar met the late officer’s mother and wife. Martyred Col Mahadik’s wife Swati told the Minister that both her children would join the Armed forces.
Parrikar consoled his mother and told the family members that the armed forces were behind them in their hour of bereavement.
Earlier, Col Mahadik’s mother Kalinda — who had been simply told that her son had sustained injuries in a shootout, broke down seeing her martyred son’s body on its arrival in Pogarwadi village. “Where is belovedIJ Where has he goneIJ,” a sobbing Kalinda asked.
Commanding Officer of 41 Rashtriya Rifles Col Mahadik, who was decorated with a Sena Medal was leading a search party and was critically injured when militants, holed up in a dense forested area of Haji Naka in Kupwara district, fired at him.
Hailing from Satara, Col Mahadik belonged to a small farmer’s family and later joined the Satara Military School, before joining the army in 1998. An expert paratrooper and a combat underwater driver, Col Mahadik became the second Commanding Officer to be martyred in terrorist encounter this year.
Col Mahadik was the second Army commanding officer to die in a terrorist encounter this year. On January 27, Col. Munindra N. Rai of the Gorkha Rifles, was killed at Handora village in Tral, south Kashmir, a day after he was honoured with the Yudh Seva Medal in the Republic Day awards list.
Col Rai was posthumously conferred with the ‘Shaurya Chakra’ on Independence Day on August 15 this year.