Kolkata, Apr 26 (PTI) Hundreds of people thronged the narrow lanes of Tehatta village in West Bengal’s Nadia district on Saturday to pay their last respect to Armyman Havildar Jhantu Ali Sheikh whose mortal remains were brought to his native village this morning.

Sheikh laid down his life during an anti-terror operation in Jammu & Kashmir’s Udhampur district.

His sacrifice was honoured with a wreath-laying ceremony at the 166 Military Hospital in Jammu on Friday, where senior officials of the Army, CRPF, BSF, and Jammu & Kashmir Police paid their final respects.

His mortal remains were brought to Kolkata on Friday night and then Barrackpore before being taken to his native village on Saturday morning, an official said.

As the body arrived in the village, a large number of people, irrespective of caste, creed, and religion, gathered on two sides of the lanes, rooftops and balconies to bid farewell to their hero.

Emotions ran high as Sheikh’s family, inconsolable in their grief, received the tricolour-wrapped coffin.

A stage was set up near a local mosque where the mortal remains of the armyman were placed, allowing residents to pay their last respects.

His wife demanded justice.

“Those responsible for his death must be punished,” she said.

The chief minister expressed deep sorrow over the soldier’s death and pledged all possible support to his bereaved family.

“The entire state stands by the family of Jhantu Ali Sheikh. His sacrifice will never be forgotten,” the CM had said.

Local administration officials and representatives from the armed forces also reached the village to offer condolences and support to the grieving family.

Jhantu is survived by wife, 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter. PTI BSM. BDC