Hundreds of people from Amboli and neighbouring villages in Sindhudurg district of coastal Maharashtra on Tuesday bade an emotional adieu to martyred soldier Naik Gawade Pandurang Mahadev, who succumbed to critical injuries that he had sustained during a fierce encounter with terrorists in north Kashmir's Kupwara district on Saturday last.
Gawade’s last rites were performed at his home village of Amboli with full military honours, in the presence of his grieving family members who included his parents, wife, two children and two elder brothers who had earlier served the Army. While entire Amboli village had turned out for Gawade’s funeral, hundreds of people from the neighbouring villages had trekked all the martyred soldier’s village to pay their last respects to the brave soldier.
The mortal remains of the brave martyr had arrived Goa on Monday evening. After a solemn wreath laying ceremony, where wreath was laid by Brigadier SK Agarwal, Commandant, 2 Signal Training Center in Goa in the morning. Gawade’s body was transported to the soldier’s native village Amboli later in the morning.
Brigadier Pravin Shinde, Commandant of Maratha light Infantry Regimental Center, Belgaum laid wreath to the mortal remains of the soldier prior to the cremation.
Gawade had been critically injured in a fierce encounter that resulted in the elimination of five heavily armed terrorists on Saturday last at Durgmulla in Kupwara district. The soldier was part of the column which initially located and engaged the terrorists hiding in a cluster of houses. He was evacuated to the Military Hospital but later succumbed to his injures.
Gawade, who belonged to the 41 Rashtriya Riffles (RR), succumbed to injuries at the Kashmir Military hospital. Thirty-four-year-old Gawade is survived by wife Pranjal and two sons, Prajwal (6) and Vedant (four months).