In an embarrassing lapse, the portrait of the brother of CRPF soldier N Satish, who was killed in the militant attack in Srinagar, was taken in his funeral procession here today with relatives and district authorities blaming each other for it.
As a large number of people from Satish's village and Ministers Suresh Kumar and A Ramdas paid homage to the CRPF soldier, killed in Wednesday's suicide attack in Srinagar, at the Deputy Commissioner's office premises, and the funeral procession began to his native village Alambadi, his relatives protested that the portrait was not his.
According to Satish's uncle, Anand and some other relatives, the portrait was that of the slain soldier's brother, who is also serving in the CRPF in Madhya Pradesh.
But, the Deputy Commissioner B N Krishnaiah maintained that the portrait was provided by Satish's family only and there was no lapse on the part of the district administration. The portrait was later changed as the funeral procession proceeded.
In another embarrassment, as the body of Satish was brought here from Bangalore in the wee hours, the night staff at a private hospital refused to keep it in cold storage for three hours from 3 AM to 6 AM.
Ramdas said action would be taken against the hospital.
The minister also announced that a 2,400 sq.ft. site would be provided here to the family of Satish.
The cremation of Satish, who was killed along with four other CRPF Jawans in the suicide attack on the paramilitary force camp in Srinagar, will take place at Alambadi in the afternoon.