The last rites of Sepoy Ankush Thakur were performed by his younger brother Aditya.

Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh:

The last rites of Sepoy Ankush Thakur, who was killed in a violent clash with Chinese troops in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley earlier this week, were performed with full military honours at his native place in Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district on Friday.

The body was consigned to flames at a crematorium near his native village Krohta in the presence of hundreds of villagers who raised slogans such as ”Shaheed Ankush Thakur amar rahe” (Long live martyr Ankush Thakur) and ”China murdabad” (down with China).

The last rites were performed by his younger brother Aditya.

The 21-year-old soldier’s father Anil Kumar and other relatives were also present to bid him final adieu. His mother Usha Devi, who was inconsolable, kept refusing to take the body for cremation.

A contingent of the Punjab Regiment reversed their arms and fired in air to bid farewell to their colleague.

Scores of people, with their face covered with masks, thronged his home to pay their tributes to the fallen soldier.

Himachal Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Virender Kanwar and MLA Kamlesh Kumari also paid tributes to the soldier.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur will visit the sepoy’s house on Saturday to convey his condolences to the bereaved family members, a district official told news agency PTI.

Amid rains and bad weather, the body was first taken to the Chandigarh Air Force station from Leh and then brought to his native village by road.

On the way, the body was received by the Una district administration at Mehatpur, the gateway of Himachal Pradesh from Punjab.

Una Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kumar and Superintendent of Police Karthikeyan Gokulachandran paid floral tributes to the martyr.