A pall of gloom descended on Kandani near Ilayangudi on Sunday after the family members of P. Ilayaraja, who was serving in the army in Jammu and Kashmir, learned that he was killed in an encounter with militants.
I. Selvi, 24, the wife of the deceased soldier, is four months pregnant. The family was preparing to celebrate the festival of Gokulashtami when they received the news. Ilayaraja, who got married last year, was one of the two soldiers killed in the encounter in Shopian district in a gun battle that began on Saturday night and lasted till Sunday morning.
After hearing the screams of Selvi and Meenakshi, Ilayaraja’s mother, residents of the village rushed to their house. A revenue officer, who visited the village, said he could not seek any details as the women were extremely distressed.
Periasamy, Ilayaraja’s father, works at a hotel in Coimbatore and was on his way home, the official said. Ilayaraja had come home for a vacation last month and returned only recently. The body is likely to be brought to the village on Monday afternoon.
