The residents of Mulwandwadi village in Sindhudurg district of coastal Konkan today bid a tearful adieu to martyr Naik Pandurang Mahadev Gawade of 41 Rashtriya Riffles, who was killed while fighting a group of highly-trained militants in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.
Gawade was cremated with full military honours at his native village. The villagers had put up posters lauding his supreme sacrifice for the country.
Guardian Minister of Sindhudurg, Deepak Kesarkar said the government will render all possible financial assistance to the martyr's family.
Gawade, who is survived by wife and two children, was critically injured in the fierce gunbattle that resulted in the elimination of five heavily-armed militants at Chak Drugmulla in Kupwara.
The Army yesterday paid tributes to Gawade, lauding his "valour and sacrifice", at a solemn ceremony held at Badami Bagh Cantonment in Srinagar.
Gawade was part of the column which located and engaged the terrorists hiding in a cluster of houses. The injured soldier was admitted to the Military Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
