Soldier Mandeep Singh to be Cremated, No Diwali in Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra: Amid chants of 'Pakistan Murdabad', Indian Army soldier Mandeep Singh's body was brought to Antahedi village in Kurukshetra district, Haryana on Sunday and will be cremated with full military honours.

Mandeep, a sepoy of the 17th Sikh regiment, was killed in an encounter with terrorists in Machhil sector of Kupwara area of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday night and his body was mutilated by terrorists near the Line of Control (LoC).

He hailed from Antahedi village in Kurukshetra district which is known for sending men to the armed forces, about 100 km from Chandigarh.

His body was brought to Ambala on Saturday.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar joined the the massive crowd in paying rich tributes to the martyr.

"We all stand along with their families. A compensation of Rs 50 lakh will be given as compensation and a government job will be offered to 1 family member," ML Khattar told the media.

Residents of Mandeep's village said that no Diwali would be celebrated in the village as a mark of respect to the martyr.

No one will celebrate Diwali this year, our entire village mourns the death of Mandeep Singh, said Subhash Chandra, Sarpanch of Antahedi Village.

"We are proud of the sacrifice of our son. Pakistan must be taught a lesson for its inhuman actions," Mandeep's father Phool Singh said.

Mandeep, who was married in 2014, leaves behind his widow, Prerna, who is a constable in the Haryana Police, and parents.

"Our government should take decisive action to finish Pakistan. We cannot let our soldiers die like this," an inconsolable Prerna told the media.

The Indian Army, in an official statement on Saturday, said the soldier's body was "mutilated" and added that it would retaliate with an "appropriate response".

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar described Mandeep's killing as a cowardly act by the terrorists. The Chief Minister said that a financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh would be given to the next of kin.

This is not the first time that Pakistan has mutilated the bodies of Indian soldiers.

During the Kargil war in 1999, Captain Saurabh Kalia, Sepoys Arjunram Baswana, Mula Ram Bidiasar, Naresh Singh Sinsinwar, Bhanwar Lal Bagaria and Bhika Ram Mudh of 4 Jat Regiment were captured by Pakistani troops and brutally tortured.

The soldiers had their ear drums pierced with hot iron rods, eyes punctured and genitals cut off. The autopsy of the bodies also revealed that they were burned with cigarettes butts. Their limbs were also chopped off, teeth broken and skull fractured during the torture. Even their nose and lips were sliced off.

In another incident, on January 8, 2013, Pakistani soldiers entered Indian territory in Krishna Ghati sector of the border and killed two Indian soldiers - Lance Naik Hemraj and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh. Indian officials said both the bodies were mutilated, and Hemraj's body was decapitated.