Upper cast villagers briefly halt funeral of CRPF trooper killed in Kashmir ambush

The family of a CRPF trooper killed in an ambush in Kashmir’s Pampar had to face unseeming display of caste prejudice as his funeral was halted at his village, Nagla Kewal in Shikohabad, Firozabad district.

A news report in ToI said upper castes of the village refused to allow a public land to be used for the cremation of the slain soldier, who is from the Nat(acrobats) community. It was only after the intervention of district officials that villagers agreed to give up a 10 by 10 metre plot for the last rites.

The incident took place on Sunday afternoon, when the family of the slain soldier wished to erect a statue of him near village road at a public land, where every year local fair takes place during festive times.

The gram Pradhan of the village, Vijay Singh of Kanthari gram panchayat said, “In the morning, the local villagers had raised objections over martyred soldier’s family’s demand to cremate his body on public land and then erect a statue of him. But later, after long hours of talk with SDM, the villagers agreed to respect the family demand.”



The 52-year-old Vir Singh was the sole bread earner of his family, who joined CRPF in 1981, the report said. His family stays in approximate 500 sq foot one room set home with tin shed as roof.