The last rites of martyred Colonel Manpreet Singh were performed with full military honors at his native village Bharonjian near Mullanpur in Mohali (adjoining Chandigarh) on Friday.

A gallant Indian Army officer, Col Manpreet Singh, the commanding officer (CO) of 19 Rashtriya Rifles battalion, was martyred during a joint operation of the Indian Army and Jammu and Kashmir police against Pakistani terrorists hiding in dense Kokernag forests of Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Wednesday.

A large number of people, including political leaders, gathered at the funeral to pay homage to the departed officer whose mortal remains were brought from Jammu and Kashmir in an aircraft and was transported to his native village on Friday morning.

The dignitaries who paid the tribute included former Indian Army chief General VP Malik (retired), Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Punjab Cabinet Minister Anmol Gagan Maan and former minister Balbir Singh Sidhu.

 The funeral ceremony was held in the presence of Army officers and local residents amid chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ke Sapoot Ki Jai’, “Vande Mataram” and “Bole so Nihal, Sat Sri Akal”. Civilians from across the district also took part in the funeral and bid a tearful adieu to Colonel Manpreet Singh.

Earlier, emotions ran high as the Army officer’s body was brought to the village on Friday morning and was kept at the courtyard of his ancestral house in the village for people to pay their last respects. A huge crowd had already gathered in the village before his mortal remains were brought in a special vehicle.

Dressed in an Army uniform, six-year-old son of Colonel Manpreet Singh, Kabir Singh, saluted his father saying “Jai Hind Papa”. The officer’s sister also offered a rakhi to her late brother’s remains. His mother and wife could not control their emotions as the family went near the coffin in which Colonel Manpreet Singh’s body was kept.

The martyr was given a gun salute during the cremation, while the Army band performed during the last rites. The pyre was lit by Colonel Manpreet Singh’s son as the officer’s family, friends and relatives bid him an emotional adieu.

Colonel Manpreet Singh was a third-generation army officer joined who the Army against the wishes of his father and gave up his career as a chartered accountant to join the army.