Fallen heroes' last rites held as nation salutes their valour

Jai Hind, said seven-year-old Kabir, dressed in army-style fatigues, as he saluted his father one last time before Colonel Manpreet Singh was cremated amid a steady stream of mourners at his village in Mohali district of Punjab on Friday.

- Neeraj Mohan, Robert Abraham

In Panipat district of Haryana, too, a bugler sounded the "Last Post" for Major Ashish Dhonchak who was killed in the same encounter.

The mortal remains of Colonel Manpreet Singh, a third-generation soldier who was one of the four security personnel killed in the Anantnag encounter on September 13, reached his home in Mullanpur in Mohali district on Friday. His two children a 2-year-old daughter Vaani and a 7-year-old son Kabir -paid tributes to their father.

Since Friday morning, Colonel Singh's house in Bharaunjian village witnessed a steady stream of mourners who joined his inconsolable wife, mother and other family members in paying tributes. An Army officer was seen holding Kabir as the family and others paid their last respects while a relative held on to his two-year-old daughter Vaani.