Kochi/Thrissur: Hundreds of people Wednesday bid a tearful adieu to army soldier Antony Sebastian who was killed in Pakistani firing along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
His body was laid to rest with full military honours at the cemetery of Emperor Emmanuel Church in Muriyad in Thrissur district Wednesday evening, officials said. The mortal remains of the soldier were brought to Kochi Wednesday morning by an Air India flight.
Lance Naik Antony Sebastian, 34, was killed Monday by a Pakistani sniper along the Line of Control in Poonch area. The plane carrying his body arrived at the airport in Kochi this morning.
Ernakulam District Collector Muhammed Y Safirulla, representatives of the Army and MLAs had arrived at the airport to pay their respects to the departed soldier.
The mortal remains were later taken to his residence in Udayamperoor in Thrippunithura in Ernakulam District where hundreds of people paid tributes to the departed soldier.
His body was brought to the Palam Technical Area in New Delhi Tuesday. Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Devraj had laid a wreath on the body. At about 5.15 pm on Monday, Pakistan Army resorted to an unprovoked ceasefire violation in Krishna Ghati Sector (Mendhar) on the Line of Control (LoC), resulting in the death of the soldier.
Sebastian was critically injured and succumbed to injuries. “General Bipin Rawat #COAS & all ranks salute supreme sacrifice of Lance Naik Antony Sebastian KM & offer sincere condolences to the family. #BraveSonsOfIndia,” the Additional Directorate General of Public Information, IHQ of MoD (Army) had tweeted Tuesday.