Major Chitresh Bisht, martyred in Rajouri sector of Kashmir along the line of actual control in a mine blast, was cremated in Haridwar with full state honours on Monday afternoon. A large number of people reached to pay their tributes to major Chitresh. The Cabinet Minister Satpal Maharaj, the former Chief Minister and MP Ramesh Pokhariyal ‘Nishank,’ MP Bhagat Singh Koshyari, the state BJP president Ajay Bhatt and city mayor Anita Sharma aside from the Army and the police officials and some ascetics were present. On behalf of the Indian Army, Brigadier Raghushree Srinivasan gave salute to the martyr. A guard of honour was also held to pay respect to the martyr.
The people present there said that the martyrdom of Indian Army officers and jawans, one after another, in troubled Jammu and Kashmir should not be allowed to go in vain.
They demanded immediate intervention of the Centre and the Indian Army in stopping such terror attacks from repeating. Notably, on Saturday, the mortal remains of Mohan Lal Raturi who had been killed in the Pulwama suicide bomb attack had been consigned to flames. Chitresh Bisht was set to come home later this month in Dehradun for his wedding ceremony slated on March 7.
The near ones of the martyr looked inconsolable when his body, wrapped in the national tri-colour, reached the house. His funeral started from Dehradun and reached Kharkhari cremation grounds in Haridwar. When the funeral procession reached Kharkhari a large number of mourners had already gathered. They yelled slogans against Pakistan, terming it as the fount of terrorism smiting the country.
The father of the martyr, a retired inspector from Uttarakhand Police ,wondered how long such a procession of death would be allowed to continue. “The government must declare the final war to stamp out the terrorists. There is no time to waste,” he said.
Another near one of the martyr Chandra Singh Gosai said, “We are ready to do any kind of sacrifice if the Centre declares a war to finish off terrorism and their abetters from across the borders once and for all. Everybody knows whence terrorism originates.”