Dantewada attack: Last rites of jawan in Kasoli witnesses emotional atmosphere

By Avinash Prasad
Dantewada (Chhattisgarh) [India], April 27 (ANI): Amid mammoth gathering and the sound of the slogan 'Shaheed Jawan Amar Rahe', residents of village Kasoli in Dantewada district bid an emotional adieu to their hero Lakhmu Markam, who sacrificed his life in the line of duty.
Notably, 10 personnel of District Reserve Guards (DRG) and a civilian driver were killed after Naxals blasted a vehicle ferrying the security personnel on Wednesday in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.
As the mortal remains of Markam reached his village Kasoli, large numbers of villagers turned out to pay floral tributes to the courageous DRG constable.
When the entire village was resonated with the slogans raised by villagers and everyone broke into tears, the inconsolably Markam's wife herself lay down on the funeral pyre so that her husband should not be made to lie on the pyre. With teary eyes, Markam's wife was seen saying that she cannot see her husband being burned in the fire. The villagers were trying to console the victim's wife as well as the children.
The funeral procession of the DRG trooper marked the lighting of crackers and a beat of traditional musical instruments.
While interacting with ANI, villagers said that the family of constable Markam was earlier residing at the naxal hotbed Abujhmad area and disappointed by the exploitation of insurgents, they migrated following which the family was rehabilitated at 'Salwa Judum Relief Camp'. Realising the dark side of Naxalism, Markam joined the force and actively participated in anti-naxal operations.
Markam has been survived by a wife and four children.
After joining the police department, Markam started working with DRG and he was very simple in nature, said a villager Chaitram Atami, elaborating that he stands by everyone in tough times.
"After the Naxals pushed Markam's family as well as others out of their native village by branding them as police informers following which they migrated here," Atami said.
"Certainly, we are sad by this incident but proud of him for sacrificing his life for the country," he added.
Markam had joined the police department in 2007, said the jawan's brother-in-law Sannu Ram. (ANI)