Family members of slain army jawan Chandan Kumar Rai today refused to perform his last rites as they demanded the presence of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during his funeral procession.
The signalman was posted at a forward post in Mankote sector of Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, where he was injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan and later succumbed to his injuries on Saturday night.
Rai (25), who was set to marry next month, had applied for leave and was expected to arrive in his native village early next month.
His mortal remains arrived at Varanasi airport yesterday and was taken to 39 Gorkha Training Centre in Varanasi. It was taken to Nadesar-Marufpur village in Uttar Pradesh's Chandauli district this morning.
The family members sat on a dharna and refused to perform the last rites, untill the home minister, who is also a native of the same district, and the UP chief minister visit Rai's ancestral village.
UP ministers Anil Rajbhar and Jai Prakash Nishad, District Magistrate Hemant Kumar and Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh, along with other district officials and local MLAs had reached the village to offer their condolences to the aggrieved family.
The chief minister had announced Rs 25-lakh ex-gratia for Rai's family yesterday.(PTI)