Ghaziabad: Havildar Chandramohan Singh (49) of the Assam Rifles, who was killed in a militant ambush in Manipur on July 6, was cremated with full military honours at Hindon ghat on Wednesday. Cabinet minister Sunil Sharma, Sadar SDM Arun Dixit and Colonel Naveen Sharma of 56 Field Regiment, Meerut, paid tribute as his mortal remains reached his Nandgram home.Singh was part of a patrol team that was ambushed by unidentified gunmen while travelling from Ukhrul headquarters to their battalion base at Shangshak. Warrant officer Balwant Singh was also killed in the attack.Singh’s son, Rahul, said his father joined the Army in 1996 and the family moved to Ghaziabad from Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, in 2008. Singh had returned home last month for his own father’s funeral. “On June 3, my grandfather passed away. My father was here for his last rites and returned to Manipur on July 3. He joined duty on July 5 and died just a day later during a patrol,” Rahul said.The back-to-back losses have devastated the family. “My mother, Manju Devi, has been inconsolable since the news of his death came,” Rahul said, recalling that his father always brought sweets and a sari for his mother whenever he came home on leave, and that neighbours would gather to hear stories of Army life.Rahul said Singh’s comrades told him how his father kept firing at the militants even after being hit. “He was hit by nine bullets in the chest, yet he continued shooting until his very last moments. He had them completely overwhelmed,” he said.The Army accorded Singh a guard of honour at the cremation. Despite heavy rain, a large crowd, including public representatives and administrative officials, gathered to pay their respects.Singh is survived by his wife, Manju Devi, son Rahul, and daughters Ritika and Yashika.
