On Sunday, Naik Arvind Kumar, who was killed during an anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir’s Rajouri district, was laid to rest with full state honours in his native village in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district. Kumar was one of five soldiers who tragically lost their lives in an explosion set off by terrorists in the densely forested Kandi area of Rajouri. Security forces are currently conducting operations to eliminate the remaining militants.
Kumar’s body was brought to his native village of Suri earlier in the morning, where his brother Bhupinder Kumar lit the funeral pyre. Family, friends, and military officers gathered to pay their respects to the fallen hero. Kumar is survived by his mother Nirmala Devi, father Ujjwal Singh, wife Bindu Devi, and two young daughters, Shanvi and Shanvika.
Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister Chandra Kumar Chaudhary, representing the Chief Minister, paid tribute to the slain soldier. Other dignitaries, including Chief Parliamentary Secretary Urban Development and Education Ashish Butail, MLA Sulah Vipin Singh Parmar, President Himachal Pradesh Agricultural Development Bank Sanjay Chauhan, former MLA Jagjivan Paul, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Nipun Jindal, and SP Ms. Shalini Agnihotri, also paid their respects.
Minister Chaudhary and Secretary Butail met with Kumar’s family to express their deepest condolences. Chaudhary assured the family that Kumar’s wife would be offered a government job and announced that the Government Senior Secondary School Marhun would be renamed in honour of the fallen soldier.
