It was a solemn moment as senior officers of the National Security Guard (NSG), the Indian army and the paramilitary forces paid tributes here Saturday to NSG commando Havaldar Gajender Singh, who was killed in a gunbattle with terrorists in Mumbai's Nariman House.
Guns boomed and bugles went off as tributes were paid to Gajender Singh with full state honours at a special ceremony in the national capital.
His coffin was draped in garlands and flowers and wrapped in the tricolour. Singh, 30, was brought to the NSG headquarters in Mehram Nagar, close to the domestic airport, for a tribute ceremony.
Apart from senior officers of the NSG and the Indian army, central paramilitary Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General Vikram Srivastva, senior officials of the home ministry, and parliamentarian Naveen Jindal arrived to pay tributes to Singh.
The body of Singh, who is survived by his wife, would be flown in a special aircraft to his hometown Dehradun in Uttarakhand later in the day for the funeral.
Singh, who was from 10 Para Commandos battalion of the Indian army, was on deputation with the NSG since January.
{{/usCountry}}Singh, who was from 10 Para Commandos battalion of the Indian army, was on deputation with the NSG since January.
{{/usCountry}}NSG Director General J.K. Dutt said he sacrificed his life in the line of duty.
“He didn't turn his back to the militants and created a way for the other commandos despite a grenade thrown at him.”
Priyanka Vadra, daughter of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, told reporters at Nirman Bhavan after casting her vote: "I condole the death of those killed in the Mumbai terror attack and my heart goes to the security personnel who laid down their life battling terrorists."
"The nation is reacting to it unitedly and we should take a resolution to fight against terror. I have also lost someone to terrorism," she told reporters after casting her vote.