Bihar on Tuesday mourned BSF jawan Rambabu Singh, who died late on Monday night after being injured in Pakistan’s cross-border shelling along border areas of Jammu and Kashmir last week. His body is expected to be brought to Siwan on Wednesday.
A day earlier, another BSF man from Bihar, , was laid to rest with full state honours in Saran. They were both wounded in J&K in Pakistani shelling, which came amid rising tensions between the two countries in the aftermath of India’s Operation Sindoor.
As leaders across the political spectrum paid tribute to both the BSF men, Chief Minister announced compensation of Rs 50 lakh each for their families.
Rambabu Singh, a resident of Basilpur village in Siwan district, was critically injured in shelling on Friday. Singh had only recently married his wife, Anjali, and was expecting a child, family members said.
On the morning of his death, Singh had spoken to his wife at 10 am. His father-in-law said Singh had got a posting to Jodhpur, but due to the recent India-Pakistan tensions, he was retained in and Kashmir.
The son of a former deputy mukhiya of Hariharpur Panchayat, Rambabu was the younger of two siblings and had always dreamt of serving the nation since his childhood, his uncle Shashi Kant said.
His mortal remains are expected to arrive in Siwan on Wednesday, where preparations are underway for his funeral with full state honours in the presence of district authorities and Army officials.
“…The nation will always remember his sacrifice. I am deeply saddened by this incident. I pray to God to give strength to the martyr’s family to endure this difficult time. The state government will provide an ex-gratia amount of Rs 50 lakh to the nearest dependent of martyr Rambabu Singh. Additionally, the state government will ensure that the last rites of martyr Rambabu Singh are conducted with full police honours,” Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said in a post on X.
On Tuesday, Kumar, accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, ministers Mohammad Zama Khan and Sumit Kumar Singh, along with other leaders and several senior administrative officials including DGP Vinay Kumar, visited BSF Sub-Inspector Mohammad Imteyaz’s family.
The CM handed over a cheque of Rs 50 lakh to the family and announced a government job for Imteyaz’s son in line with his qualifications. Kumar also declared a two-kilometre stretch of road, from Chintamanganj Bridge to Rahampur Bazar, will be named after Imteyaz and that a memorial gate will be constructed at the entrance to Jalal-Basant panchayat. Additionally, a new health sub-centre and a permanent memorial will be established in the village to honour him, authorities said.
Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav had also visited the bereaved family and demanded the state government “name a big hospital after martyr Mohammad Imteyaz” and to provide all possible support to his family, including the allotment of a “petrol pump for financial support”.
