Body of braveheart Army Major flown to Mumbai; funeral today

All shops at Sheetal Nagar in Mira Road remained shut on Wednesday, in the memory of Army Major Kaustubh Prakashkumar Rane

All shops at Sheetal Nagar in Mira Road remained shut on Wednesday, in the memory of Major Kaustubh Prakashkumar Rane, who was killed during a gunbattle with infiltrators in the Gurez sector of north Kashmir on Monday night.

Army Major Kaustubh Prakashkumar Rane

Meanwhile, Rane’s body arrived in Mumbai on Wednesday night and was kept in a mortuary at Army’s Central Ordnance Depot, Malad; from there, it will be taken to Mira Road for the final rites on Thursday. The funeral, which was supposed to be conducted on Wednesday, has been rescheduled for Thursday.

An Army spokesperson said Rane’s mortal remains were flown in a Dornier aircraft to New Delhi from Srinagar on Wednesday afternoon. Later, a service aircraft brought the body to Mumbai.

People can pay their homage to Rane between 6am and 9am. The funeral procession is likely to start from his house at Hiral Sagar building to Vaikunthdham civic crematorium in Mira Road around 10am, said Pranjal Jadhav, member of the District Sainik Kalyan Board, Thane.

Expecting at least 30,000 mourners, the Mira Bhayander Municiipal Corporation (MBMC) was erecting a pandal at the crematorium in Mira Road, said civic commissioner Balaji Khatgaonkar. “MBMC is also coordinating with the traffic police to prevent congestion,” he said. The funeral procession will pass through Sheetal Nagar, Babasaheb Ambedkar Marg, Station Road, PG Vohra Marg to the crematorium. Political leaders such as PWD minister Eknath Shinde, education minister Vinod Tawde visited Rane’s residence to offer their condolence, while Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray spoke to the family on telephone.