The last rites of 37-year-old Indian Army Hawildar Althaf Ahmed, who died in a blizzard while on duty in Kashmir, were performed in his native in Meenupete in Kodagu district’s Virajpet taluk with state honours on Saturday.
The body of Althaf Ahmed, who had died on February 22, arrived in his native in Kodagu early on Saturday as its departure by air from Srinagar was delayed owing to bad weather. The body was kept at Eidgah Maidan in Meenupete for the public to pay their last respects before it was laid to rest at the burial ground as per Islamic rituals.
Virajpet MLA K.G. Bopaiah, MLCs Suja Kushalappa and Veena Achaiah, besides Deputy Commissioner B.C. Satish, Kodagu Superintendent of Police M.A. Aiyappa and other senior officials of the district administration were among the large number of people, who paid their last respects.
According to sources, Althaf Ahmed grew up in Meenupete and completed his SSLC in St Anne’s School in Virajpet and Pre University Education at the Virajpet Government Junior College. He later joined the Army Ordnance Corps (AOC) regiment. He had been serving the Army in various places since the last 19 years.
While guarding the border in Kashmir, Althaf Ahmed was caught in a blizzard on February 22 and died.
After the ceremonial gun salute during the funeral of the martyred solider, Army personnel handed over handed over the tricolour that draped Althaf Ahmed’s body and his uniform to his wife and two children. He leaves behind his mother, wife, a son and a daughter.
