Basa Tikri (Meerut): Anti-Pakistan slogans reverberated on the cremation grounds of Basa Tikri village on Tuesday morning as thousands thronged to pay their last respect to martyr Ajay Kumar, 27, who was among four Army personnel killed in an overnight operation against militants in Pulwama in the early hours of Monday. Senior Army officials and entire guard of 18 Garhwal Rifles paid their last tributes on behalf of the armed forces.Emotions ran high in the village located in the Jani block of Meerut as the martyr’s two-year-old son Arav lit the pyre. Basa Tikri, a village of 800 residents, has at least one member in every family serving in the armed forces. The village unanimously decided not to burn stoves and cook food for the day as mark of deep pain and respect for Kumar.The jawan’s wife, Dimple, who is five months pregnant, said, “Our soldiers’ hands are tied. They should be given freedom. Action should be strong enough to serve as deterrent against unabated killings of Indian soldiers.”Retired Hawaldar Satyender Singh, a villager, said, “Three members of our family have served the Army while my son is in the Navy. The entire village wants befitting reply to the dastardly act committed by terrorists on Indian soil. But at the same time, there has to be a viable solution devised by our politicians to end this bloodbath as well. We have all decided not to burn our stoves today.”During the cremation ceremony, anger against the government was also palpable. Dharmpal, uncle of Ajay Kumar, said, “Mere rhetoric cannot soothe our pain. When will the government act or are we going to continue witnessing bodies of our children coming home?”Kamlesh Devi, Ajay’s mother, said, “So many of our sons have died. Pakistan is not so big that it cannot be destroyed by India.”Union minister of state and Baghpat MP Satyapal Singh was also present apart from RLD national vice president Jayant Chaudhary.

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