SATARA (Maha): Hundreds of people from all walks of life on Thursday converged at a small village here as the mortal remains of Colonel Santosh Mahadik, who laid down his life battling militants near LoC in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district, were consigned to flames with full military honours.

The 39-year-old martyr’s body was brought to Pogarwadi village in Maharashtra’s Satara district this moring where his last rites were performed.
The body was kept for sometime at his mother’s house in the neighbouring Aaray village where defence minister Manohar Parrikar paid homage to him. A large number of villagers from various communities gathered at the cremation site to pay their respects to the martyr.

With teary eyes, the mourning villagers bid adieu to their son who made them proud and shouted slogans like “Col Mahadik Amar Rahe” as his mortal remains were consigned to flames.
Earlier, his mortal remains wrapped in the tricolour were brought in a procession escorted by Army personnel.
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had paid tributes to Col Mahadik in Pune last night when the the Army officer’s mortal remains were brought there en route to his native Satara district.
Col Mahadik, the Commanding Officer of 41 Rashtriya Rifles, was critically injured during an operation in the Haji Naka forest area of Kupwara near the LoC in Kashmir on Tuesday. He succumbed to his injuries at a hospital later.