Rich tributes paid to martyred CRPF Jawan Pradeep Panda in Odisha

Sundargarh: Martyred CRPF jawan Pradeep Kumar Panda was today given guard of honour by policemen at Rajgangpur mini stadium in Odisha’s Sundargarh district.

CRPF DIG, Sundargarh Collector and SP also paid their homage to the martyr.

Hundreds of people had gathered at the stadium with the surrounding getting reverberated with slogans of ‘Shaheed Pradeep Panda Amar Rahe‘.

The body was later taken to Liploi village here, the deceased’s native place, where the final rites were conducted. It was yesterday brought to Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar from New Delhi. The martyr was also given a guard of honour by CRPF personnel at the airport.

Notably, Panda was killed in a militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama on December 31 last year.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had yesterday announced a solatium of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased CRPF jawan.

“The Gallant Gem of CRPF Pradip Kumar Panda was legendary expert of face to face gunfight. As face of assault team he used to give first & final blow to terrorists in their hideouts. He was awarded with Police Medal for Gallantry on #IndependenceDay2017 for his gallant endeavors,” the CRPF had said in a tweet.

Heavily-armed militants stealthily entered the CRPF camp in Lathpora area of Jammu and Kashmir about two hours after midnight, hurling grenades and resorting to indiscriminate gunfire.

Five CRPF jawans were martyred in the operation that lasted for nearly 12 hours.

After barging in, the two militants secured positions in the CRPF camp located on the Srinagar-Jammu highway until they were killed.

The Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) claimed responsibility for the daring attack on the 185 Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force.