The bereaved family members, angry with the state and central government, refused to carry out the final rites of the deceased soldier. The bereaved family members, angry with the state and central government, refused to carry out the final rites of the deceased soldier.

The ceasefire violations on the border of India and Pakistan, and especially the government's stand on these flare-ups has angered family members of Indian Army soldiers. Naik Neeraj Kumar was killed during one such confrontation with militants in Kupwara. But when his body reached his home in Bulandshahr, the bereaved family members, angry with the state and central government, refused to carry out the final rites of the deceased soldier saying they would not light the pyre until a representative from the state or central government attended the cremation.

Kumar's family also wants a written assurance from the government that they will take appropriate measures to safeguard the lives of Indian soldiers on the Line of Control.

Bulandshahr, in Uttar Pradesh, was already in mourning over another soldier's death when Kumar's body arrived. Kumar was the second soldier from the town to be killed in Kupwara in the recent skirmishes. Grenadier Rahul's body had already reached his residence earlier, and was cremated with full honours. But in Kumar's case, only the local residents came to pay respect to the departed soldier.

Since Tuesday morning, the situation on the India-Pakistan border has flared up once again, with frequent exchange of gunfire and battles with militants on the Line of Control. Three soldiers have been killed since Monday.

Meanwhile, the body of a dead soldier lies in a Bulandshahr home, waiting for a VIP car to turn up on the rustic roads of the Uttar Pradesh town.