HYDERABAD: The mortal remains of 26-year-old Army soldier Ryada Maheshwar, who was martyred in an exchange of fire with terrorists in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir last Sunday, was laid to rest with full military honours in his native village of Komanpally in Velpur Mandal of Nizamabad district on Wednesday.
Ryada Maheshwar's body was flown in from Srinagar into Hyderabad, from where it was brought to Nizamabad's Komanpally in a special ambulance in the early hours of Wednesday and kept his residence for people to pay their respects.
Later, it was taken in a procession to a Vaikuntadhamam for the final rites. Thousands of people from across the district, including the people's representatives, turned up at the funeral.
With slogans of 'Mahesh amar rahe', 'Bharat mataki jai' and 'Jai Jawan and Jai Kisan' ringing in the air, State Minster Vemula Prashanth Reddy and Nizamabad MP Dharmapuri Arvind carried the casket and attended the last rites, performed by his father Ganga Mallu.
ZP Chairman D Vital Rao, District Collector C Narayana Reddy and Nizamabad Commissioner of Police Karthikeya were among other prominent personalities who paid tributes to the martyred soldier.
Army soldiers then handed over the national flag and Maheshwar's uniform to his wife Suhasini. As she received her husband’s uniform, Suhasini broke down in tears, and soldiers and women constables stepped in to console her.
Later speaking to the media, Minister Vemula referred to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's decision to announce Rs 50 lakh financial assistance, a government job and a house site to Maheshwar's family. He also thanked departments of both the Central and State governments for their efforts in giving a befitting farewell to the martyred soldier.
MP Arvind, meanwhile, compared Maheshwar’s sacrifice for the sake of the country with that of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and said he would soon present a statue of Maheshwar to be installed at a prominent place in the village.