Samikhsya Bureau
A pall of gloom descended at the Biju Patnaik International airport as the mortal remains of two CRPF jawans killed in the terrorist attack at Pulwama arrived Bhubaneswar. Hundreds of people assembled at the airport shouted: “Saheed Jawan Amar rahe” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.
The bodies of Manoj Kumar Behera of Gajabar village under Niali block of Cuttack district and Prasan Sahu of Sikhar village under Naugaon block of Jagatsinghpur district arrived by a Special Air Force plane.
A guard of honour by the CRPF and Odisha Police was given at the airport when the bodies wrapped in National flag arrived in presence of Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik, Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmanedra Pradhan and Union tribal welfare minister Jual Oram who paid floral tributes.
Odisha finance minister Shashi Bhushan Behera, health and family welfare minister Pratap Jena, BJP state president Basant Panda, state Congress president Niranjan Patnaik, director general of police R.P. Sharma, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack commissioner of police Satyajit Mohanty and top officers of the CRPF were among a number of grieving people who also paid their floral tribute at the airport.
The family members of the two martyrs were also present at the airport to receive the mortal remains, which were taken on a special vehicle with the slogans “Prasanna Sahu Amar Rahe, Manoj Behera Amar Rahe” from the air port to their respective village for the final rites with full state honour.
Thousands of people from all walks of life gathered at the airport to have the glimpse of the mortal remains of the two martyred and pay their last tribute to the departed souls.
Meanwhile, chief minister Patnaik who had yesterday announced an ex gratia of Rs.10 lakh each to the family members of the two martyrs, enhanced the compensation amount to Rs.25 lakh.
Patnaik also announced to bear the entire education expenses of the children of martyrs and declare that their villages would be made a model gram panchayat by the state government.
The chief minister also announced that the schools in which the jawans had studied will be named after them as a greatest tribute to their sacrifice for the nation.
