SATNA, Apr 23: The mortal remains of CISF assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Shankar Prasad Patel, who was killed in an encounter with terrorists in Jammu, reached his native Naugawan village in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district on Saturday evening, an official said.
Two Pakistani “fidayeen” (suicide) attackers belonging to proscribed terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel Patel were killed in a pre-dawn gunfight near an Army camp on the outskirts of Jammu on Friday, two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to the region.
Patel was posted in Bhilai and had moved with his unit to Jammu only on April 18, his friend, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) ASI Shyam Singh told PTI.
Patel is survived by his wife Laxmibai and two sons – Sanjay and Surendra, he said.
Patel’s (58) mortal remains reached his native Naugawan village, as chants of “Shankar Patel Amar Rahe” rented the air.
“My father would often say that he has worked tirelessly with the CISF for 33 years and the time has come for him to hang up his boots,” Patel’s younger son Surendra (36), who is a software engineer with a Nagpur-based company, told PTI.
The body of the officer reached his village little after 6 pm, Maihar area in-charge Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Mohit Yadav said.
The last rites will take place at Naugawan at 9 am on Sunday, he said.
At least 3,000 mourners thronged martyred officer’s house to pay tributes, the SDOP said.
According to Patel’s acquaintances, he had told his family in December that next time when he returns home he will stay back for good and the family was also renovating their home to make it comfortable for him.
Patel was just waiting for his younger son to get married to put in his papers, the deceased officer’s friend Shyam Singh said. (PTI)