The mortal remains of Muralidhar Naik (48), a native of Mangalore and a soldier of the Border Security Force (BSF) posted in Mizoram, were consigned to flames here on Friday. The cause of death has been now reported as cerebral malaria.
   Son of Late Venkataramana Naik, Muralidhar Naik who fell victim to cerebral malaria, had been transferred to Mizoram’s Bangla border only a few weeks ago.
   When the soldier’s body was brought to his house near Morgan’s Gate from Bajpe Airport, a large number of grieving family members and well-wishers gathered in his house.
   Before performing the last rites, BSF soldiers presented a guard of honour to him by firing in the air. Later, the flag covering the body was ceremonially handed over by the BSF soldiers to Kirtan, the son of the deceased soldier.
   Naik’s friend, Mr Gangadhar, who is also a soldier in the BSF and who accompanied the body to Mangalore, said that it took two days to bring him over to the BSF head quarters which resulted in rising fever.
   Describing the hectic working conditions of the BSF soldiers in Mizoram, Mr Gangadhar said Malaria is a common disease on the border areas. “We are not facing much of militancy problem. But malaria is severely affecting many, in spite of all the precautions are taken,” he said and added that sometimes it takes two days to reach the border from the headquarters on foot.
Politicians queue up
   As the politicians learnt of the news that the soldier’s body reached his home, several politicians queued up to pay their last respects. Prominent among them included Deputy Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, District-in-Charge Ministers B Nagaraj Shetty, Industries Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, MLA N Yogish Bhat and BJP candidate Chandrashekar Ucchil. The Congress battalion included Union Minister Oscar Fernandes, Administrative Reforms Commission Chairperson Veerappa Moily, Janardhan Poojary and AICC Secretary Praveen Davar among others.