I Am Proud of My Father, He Sacrificed His Life to Save So Many Others: BSF Martyr's Son

"I am proud of my dad, he sacrificed his life to save so many others," a BSF martyr's son said at his father's funeral.

Elsewhere, a pall of gloom descended over the sleepy Deultarapatana village in Odisha's Kendrapara district at the news of the death of Kishore Rout, a local youth and one of the BSF personnel killed in the aircrash in Delhi.

Kishore (36) was the only son of his parents. His father Balakrushna Rout had also served under BSF as caretaker of a guesthouse.

Villagers gathered at Kishore's home to express solidarity with the bereaved family at their hour of distress. "The villagers are shocked after hearing the news of the crash yesterday. Kishore was loved by everybody here because of his amiable character. Whenever he took a break from work, he made it a point to visit Deultara and mixed with the residents," said Manoj Barik, Sarpanch Deultara gram panchayat.

"We feel as if someone from our own family has died. It will take us some time to recover from the shock," said Sukant Dash, another resident.

"My son is dead. No father will want to see his son dying such a horrifying death," said Balakrushna Rout. Kishore is survived by wife Pragati (31) and two sons aged 10 and 2 years.

His body would be brought today to his ancestral village in Rajkanika block where it will be consigned to flames with guard of honour, said Kendrapara collector Debraj Senapati.