Wife of slain soldier continues fast, demands more respect

The wife of the deceased soldier, Lt Lance Naik Hemraj Singh, has been put on a drip after her health deteriorated following a hunger strike she is holding, along with her family, in Mathura. The family of the soldier, who was brutally tortured and killed by the Pakistani army on January 8, said it will not break its fast till the government brings back the head of the martyr.

An ambulance has been kept ready in case there is an emergency. Singh and Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh were killed on the border in Poonch last week, an attack which has resulted in the outbreak of one of the worst violence across the India-Pakistan border since the two neighbours declared ceasefire.

The family cremated the body of the martyred soldier on Saturday, but his wife and mother have said they will not rest till they get back all his remains along with his severed head. The soldier’s village is tense with angry residents asking the government to give a befitting reply to Pakistan.

The villagers along with the family have made several demands to the government - naming the cremation site after Hemraj, giving ownership of a petrol pump to the martyr’s family as well as granting the soldier’s entire salary as pension to the widow.

Pakistan on Sunday agreed to Brigadier-level flag meet with India even as Line of Control remained tensed with heavy cross-fire reported throughout Saturday night. Pakistan has violated the ceasefire three times since the barbaric killings of the two Indian army soldiers.