Family members, scores of locals, ex-servicemen of the tri services, and police on Sunday received the body of 28-year-old Border Security Force jawan, Sheik Haji Hussain, who died after he was hit by an avalanche in Uttrakhand State on December 5.
The coffin containing Mr. Hussain’s body was brought to Machilipatnam by a BSF team led by Pan Singh and Dharamveer Singh on Sunday morning.
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Floral tributes
It was received with floral tributes. Thousands of locals carrying national flags, and raising slogans took out a rally on the streets of Machilipatnam, offering their tribute to the jawan, who joined the BSF in 2014.
Led by Bandar Deputy Superintendent of Police Mehaboob Basha, the rally began from the Three-Pillar Centre and reached Mr. Hussain’s residence via Thornhill Memorial here.
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BSF officials, led by Pan Singh and Dharamveer Singh handed over the coffin to Mr. Hussain’s parents in the Inaguduru area. Ex-servicemen of the town, women, and people from different parts of Krishna district thronged the house to pay their last respects to Mr. Hussain.
Emotional scenes were witnessed at the house as the jawan’s father Sheik Mehboob burst into tears on seeing the coffin. Then, he cried aloud: “The martyr has arrived”.
Veterans’ final salute
In an emotional interaction with ex-servicemen, he observed; “I have always insisted that my son join the armed forces. From this moment, he is not just my son, his also a martyr.
Mr. Hussain, a bachelor, had a telephonic conversation with the family on December 2 for the last time. He had visited the family in July. Mr. Hussain’s family had migrated from the Diviseema region in Krishna district to Machilipatnam, where he had completed his graduation before joining the BSF.