Victims of Kabul attack return home

The bodies of the six Indians killed in the Taliban attack in Kabul were flown to the national capital on Saturday evening. Eight other Indians who were injured were also in the plane.

The bodies of the six Indians killed in the Taliban attack in Kabul were flown to the national capital on Saturday evening.

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Eight other Indians who were injured were also in the plane.

President Pratibha Patil attended the wreath-laying ceremony for the six victims at the Palam air base. She was returning from Pune when she heard that a special air force plane carrying the coffins had landed.

“The President, on landing, came to know about the arrival of the bodies from Kabul. She waited for about 10 minutes (as the injured were being taken to hospital) and placed a wreath,” a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said.

The six bodies were identified as Major Dr Laishram Jyotin Singh of Army Medical Corps, Major Deepak Yadav of Army Education Corps, engineer Bhola Ram, tabla player Nawab Khan, staffer of Kandahar Consulate Nitish Chibber and ITBP constable Roshan Lal.

Jyotin Singh, from Manipur, tried to repulse the attack and saved many lives, said an external affairs ministry official.

Nawab Khan was part of a cultural troupe that was sent by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to Afghanistan.

“This would be the first time that a cultural troupe of the ICCR has been attacked by terrorists,” said Virendra Gupta, ICCR director-general.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai called up Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and assured him that extra measures would be taken to ensure the safety of Indians there.

The Prime Minister requested him to ensure full protection for Indian citizens living in Afghanistan.