GUWAHATI: Scores of Gorkhas on Tuesday marched with the mortal remains of army jawan havildar Padam Bahadur Shrestha when it was taken to his Dighalipathar Hatighuli village in Assam’s Golaghat district.
The army jawan was killed during Pakistani shelling and firing in Kashmir three days ago. The body was brought in a flight to Nagaland’s commercial town Dimapur which is the nearest airport from Shrestha’s village.
On Monday, leaders of various Gorkha organisations had assembled at the slain jawan’s house and decided to take out a rally, named “Martyr’s March”, in his honour.
When the body arrived on Tuesday afternoon, the Gorkhas took out a rally with the martyr’s convoy. When it reached the village, they marched on foot.
Shrestha had joined the Indian Army in October 2001 when he was a Class XII student at Barpathar. Son of Dhan Bahadur Shrestha, a farmer, and Dil Kumari Shrestha, a homemaker, he is survived by his wife, a daughter who is a Class XI student and two sons.
“As a proud Indian, I salute the supreme sacrifice. On behalf of the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangha (BGP), I pay tribute to the great soul who laid down his life in line of duty,” Nanda Kirati Dewan, BGP’s national secretary (youth affairs), said.