Elampilassery village near Cherppulassery sunk into deep grief over the tragic death of its brave son Lt Col Niranjan. He was killed while defusing a grenade at the scene of terror attack in Pathancode.
Though he was born in Bangalore, Niranjan has roots in the remote but scenic village and he always preferred to keep the links active. Nirajan used to visit the village regularly along with father Kalarikkal Sivarajan and mother Rajeswari and interacted with relatives and local residents. Sivarajan shifted to Bangalore and settled there some four decades ago to pursue his career.
Niranjan had visited the village along with his wife Dr Radhika and daughter Vismaya during the last Onam season. Niranjan’s paternal uncle and family now stays at his ancestral home at Elampilassery. “It was in October, I last spoke to him. He called me to inform about his promotion. He sounded extremly happy then. He sent me pictures of his daughter through WhatsApp the other day,” recalled Harikrishnan, struggling hard to contain his emotions.
Though official confirmation is yet to arrive, Palakkad MP M B Rajesh said that Niranjan’s mortal remains would be taken to the village for public viewing and it would be cremated there.
