State bids tearful adieu to soldier killed in terror attack

Kannur: Naik Ratheesh C (35), who was killed in terrorist strike along with two others at Pampore in Srinagar, was cremated with full military and state honours in near his house at Kotoliparam in Kannur district Monday evening.

Besides state minister Kadanapally Ramachandran and P K Sreemathy, MP, people from various walks of life paid their last respects to the jawan after his body was brought here by road after being airlifted to Kozhikode.

The tragedy had hit the family just nine days after he had joined duty after a brief vacation at his home town to supervise the renovation work of his house.

Ratheesh was on deputation and attached to the 33 Rashtriya Rifle for field service at the Bandipore sector in Srinagar for the past three years.

He was to return to his parent regiment in Madukkari in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu soon.

The jawan is survived by his aged mother, wife and a six-month-old son.

Ratheesh and two other soldiers were killed and two others injured in the terrorist attack on an army convoy at a crowded place in Pampore on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway on December 17.