Kalli Thanda, 10 May

The body of Mudavath Murali Naik, a soldier martyred during ‘Operation Sindoor’, reached his home here in the Sri Sathyasai district late on Friday, an official press release stated.

Naik (23), an Agniveer from the Kalli Thanda village of Gorantla mandal died around  2am Friday at a reserve area in Jammu and Kashmir during an exchange of fire as part of ‘Operation Sindoor’.

“The mortal remains of Agniveer Murali Naik reached Kalli Thanda village through Gummayyagaripalli Cross in Gorantla mandal of Penukonda constituency,” press release said.

Naik’s body first arrived at the Bengaluru Airport, where it was received by Penukonda MLA and BC Welfare Minister S Savitha.

Following her tributes to the slain soldier, his body was shifted from Bengaluru Airport to Gorantla in a military convoy of 300 vehicles.

Enroute to Naik’s village, hundreds of people paid tributes to the soldier who died defending the country by showering petals and running behind the ambulance waving Indian flags.

Later, from Gummayyagaripalli to Kalli Thanda, his body was taken in a procession amid chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ and ‘Murali Naik amar rahe’, accompanied by Savitha, government officials and thousands of people, said the press release.

Upon reaching the soldier’s home at Kalli Thanda, Naik’s mother Jyothi Bai, family members, relatives and others sobbed inconsolably over his coffin as people chanted ‘Vande Mataram’, even as the BC Welfare Minister tried to comfort them.

In the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, two persons - JC Chandra Mouli (68) and S Madhusudan (45) - from the southern state were also shot dead by terrorists.