Kissing the coffin of Navy officer Lieutenant Vinay Narwal, who was among those killed in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on Tuesday, his wife, Himanshi, broke down, as the coffin was placed at the Delhi Airport on Wednesday afternoon.
“I pray that his soul rests in peace and he has the best afterlife ever. We will make him proud everyday…,” she said, as Navy officers, her family members and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta gathered around her.
The wreath-laying ceremony for Lt Narwal, who was among the 26 people killed in Pahalgam, was held at the Cargo Terminal of the airport. The couple had got married recently and were in Pahalgam for their honeymoon.
Commodore Saurabh Thakur and other Navy officials paid tribute to Narwal at the airport. Officers also accompanied the family to Karnal for Lt Narwal’s final rites.
Gupta, along with Cabinet colleague Ashish Sood, and Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, were present at the airport when the bodies of many those killed in the attack reached the city on Wednesday.
Assuring support to their kin, Gupta said, “The government of India stands with you in this time of crisis and will provide every possible support to help you restart their lives.”
Later in the day, Gupta announced that all public programmes of the Delhi government would be cancelled. “Paying tribute to the civilians martyred in the cowardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, I postpone all public programs to be held on 23 April and 24 April,” she posted on X.
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Delhi BJP, meanwhile, said in a statement, “The brutal killing of 27 Indians by terrorists in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, yesterday has plunged the entire nation into mourning, sorrow, and outrage. There is immense grief and anger among the people of Delhi as well as leaders and workers of the Delhi BJP who are united with the people of the country in mourning.” The Delhi BJP, too, has cancelled all scheduled political programs for two days.
The AAP, meanwhile, is holding a candlelight vigil at Jantar Mantar in the evening.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd