Chopper crash: Kathua bids adieu to ITBP's Bhim Singh

Kathua: An eerie silence today prevailed at Bobiya village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua district as hundreds of people quietly lined up to the crematorium to bid a tearful adieu to ITBP inspector Bhim Singh, who was killed in a chopper crash while rescuing stranded people in flood-hit Uttarakhand.

People from Bobiya and its adjoining areas gathered at the crematorium as the mortal remains of the braveheart were consigned to flames.

The 45-year-old Bhim Singh was among 20 personnel, including five other ITBP policemen, killed in the helicopter crash on Tuesday.

His body reached Jammu airport at around 7pm on Friday and from there it was taken to his native village by road. Singh is survived by his wife Renu, two daughters and a son.

“I was also on duty in Gauri Kund area. It was difficult to work in such circumstances. Hundreds of bodies were lying around. We had to work in tough atmosphere to save the lives of the people,” recalled Bhim Singh’s colleague inspector Manoj Kumar.

Paying tributes to the ITBP soldier, MLC Subash Gupta said, “He has made all of us proud.”

Five Air Force, six ITBP and nine NDRF personnel was killed in the helicopter crash.

Meanwhile, family members of Bhim Singh rued the “lackadaisical attitude” of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah towards the deceased soldier.

“If a militant is killed, our chief minister goes to meet his family members but he has no words of respect for a brave soldier who laid down his life in the line of duty,” alleged one of the family members.

PTI