last rites of Central Reserve Police Forces (CRPF) jawan Omprakash Mardaniya were performed with full State honours on Friday at his ancestral village Shahpura in Ichhawar tehsil of Sehore district.
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and leader of Opposition in Parliament Sushma Swaraj joined thousands of people from the locality to pay tributes to the brave soldier on the occasion.
The Chief Minister declared that village Shahpura would be renamed as Shaheed Omprakash Mardaniya as mark of respect to the departed soul. He said the government would build a memorial to honour Mardaniya. He announced a compensation of Rs 15 lakh to the family of Mardaniya and a government job to one family member. He also said the government would allot a plot to the wife of late Mardaniya in Sehore or Bhopal, wherever she wishes.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj said an annual fair shall be organised in the village in memory of the deceased soldier.
The elder brother of Mardaniya, who is also in CRPF, has been already transferred to Bhopal to support the bereaved family.
Ichhawar tehsil wore a sad look on Friday as all commercial establishments were closed. Thousands of people from the adjoining villages, including Diwadiya, Himmatpura, Nayapura, Mundla and other villages lined up along the way
from the home of Mardaniya to the ghat to have a glimpse of the deceased and pay floral tributes.
Several leaders, government officers and other personalities, including Revenue Minister Karan Singh Verma, Ashta legislator Ranjit Singh Gunwan, former legislator Raghunath Singh, Congress leader Usha Chouhan, CRPF Inspector General Dayaram, Deputy Inspector General Jagjit Singh, Collector Kavindra Kivayat, Janpad Chief Executive Officer BS Jamod and others were present.
Mardaniya was killed in a terror strike in Kashmir on Wednesday along with four other CRPF men.