Killed in Jammu and Kashmir encounter, Colonel MN Rai laid to rest amid tears

With full state honours, Colonel Munindra Nath Rai, the commanding officer of 42 Rashtriya Rifles, was cremated in New Delhi today. Tributes were paid to Colonel MN Rai who was killed in a gunbattle with guerrillas in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Tuesday. Officers and family members paid their last respects and laid wreaths on the martyred officer’s body at a cremation ground in the Delhi Cantt area. [caption id=“attachment_2069941” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  PTI[/caption] Colonel Rai, 39, had been awarded the Yudh Seva Medal for gallantry in this year’s Republic Day. He is survived by his wife, two daughters and a five-year old son. Commissioned into the 9 Gorkha Rifles, the 39-year-old Colonel Rai was martyred along with Jammu and Kashmir Police constable Sanjeev Singh in an encounter with Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists in Tral area of Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday evening. He belonged to Ghazipur district of Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday announced a financial assistance of Rs 30 lakh for the family of Colonel Munindra Nath Rai who was killed in a gun battle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir. In a condolence message, Yadav paid rich tributes to Colonel Rai and said the exemplary courage and supreme sacrifice of the army officer would never be forgotten. The chief minister said the government was with the army officer’s family in their hour of grief. Colonel Rai was awarded a Yudh Seva Medal on Republic Day. Agencies