All eyes turned moist as young Ganga gave a salute to her martyred father, CRPF jawan Mohan Lal Raturi, in Dehradun on Saturday morning. Raturi was among the over 40 CRPF jawans who were killed in the Pulwama terror attack that took place in Jammu and Kashmir on 14 February. The body of the deceased soldier arrived in his home state on Saturday.
A large crowd had gathered at Raturi’s residence located at Kargi Chowk. People from different parts of the city visited the place to pay their respect to the brave soldier.
All those present at Raturi’s residence became emotional as 17-year-old Ganga gave a salute to the mortal remains of her father, who was killed in the Pulwama suicide attack. The last rites of Mohan Lal Raturi was performed at Haridwar, where too a big crowd had turned up. The police had a tough time managing the emotionally charged crowd.
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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat paid tribute the deceased CRPF jawan in Dehradun on Saturday. The CM visited the Kargi Chowk locality to meet the Raturi family and offer his condolences.
Similar scenes were witnessed at Khatima where another martyred CRPF jawan Virendra Rana’s body was consigned to flames. Rana’s little son showered petals on the mortal remains and lit the funeral pyre. Union Minister of State for Textiles Ajay Tamta, State Transport Minister Yashpal Arya and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Pushkar Singh Dhami were present at the cremation.
The Uttarakhand government has announced to give Rs 25 lakh ex gratia to both the bereaved families, a job to one member from each family.
Meanwhile, several shops and business establishments across the state downed their shutters as a mark of respect for those killed. Essential services were not affected.