JAISALMER: The mortal remains of 19-year-old Agniveer soldier Gopal Singh Bhati were cremated with full military honours in his native Bonada village of Jaisalmer’s Pokhran subdivision Wednesday. His elder brother Virendra Singh lit the funeral pyre as thousands of villagers and people from nearby areas joined the final rites, with the area resonating with slogans of “Gopal Singh Amar Rahe”.A final procession was taken out for nearly 2.5 km from the village to the cremation ground. Local youths carried out a tricolour procession and offered floral tributes. Public representatives, police and administrative officials, including Pokhran MLA Mahant Pratap Puri Maharaj and former MLA Sang Singh Bhati, attended the funeral.Soldier Bhati, who joined Indian Army only two months ago under Agniveer scheme, died during training at Rajputana Rifles Regimental Centre in Delhi Tuesday. Family sources said he developed severe chest pain and discomfort around 5 am while sleeping, after which fellow soldiers rushed him to a nearby Army Base Hospital where doctors declared him dead. The cause was reported as a silent heart attack, said family sources.After completion of military procedures and post-mortem formalities in Delhi, his body was transported to Bonada in an Army vehicle, reaching early Wednesday and triggering widespread mourning across the village and Pokhran region.Bhati is survived by his parents, an elder brother and two sisters. Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat expressed grief and prayed for strength for the family, while Shiv MLA Ravindra Singh Bhati and other leaders, including BJP member Swaroop Singh Khara, Congressman and former minister Saleh Mohammad and BJP district president Dalpat Hingra, also paid tribute.
