Mother proud of martyred son

The grief-stricken mother of Lance Naik Hemraj Singh, killed by Pakistani soldiers in Jammu & Kashmir on Tuesday, said she was proud of her son.

“Mere bete ne naam roshan kar diya (My son has made all of us proud),” said Meena Singh, a resident of Sher Nagar village in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district, about 450 km from here.

A pall of gloom descended on the village after the news of Singh’s death reached the family.  His body arrived at Kheria airport in Agra on Wednesday. Thereafter it was taken to Sher Nagar by road.  Singh joined the Army in 2001, the family said. “Hemraj was a brave boy. He had sacrificed his life for the country. We are all proud of him,” said village pradhan (panchayat chief) Dharm Singh.

He also demanded that Singh’s sacrifice should be honoured. “We demand that he be honoured with Ashok Chakra,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav asserted that the country should adopt a tough posture on the issue. Demonstrations were also organised at some places in the state.