On Diwali Morning, India Bids Farewell To Mandeep Singh, 17 Sikh Light Infantry

Antahedi village, Kurukshetra was the scene of grief on Diwali morning as Mandeep Singh's family welcomed him back in a coffin. ?A truck driver's son, Mandeep joined the army at 2009.? He married Prerna, now a Haryana Police Head constable, in 2014. For his last rites, thousands have visited from across the village, and nearby areas.

Instead of Diwali celebration, the entire village will light one lamp in every home in his memory. In a firm reply to the terrorists which Pakistan's army supported, the Indian army destroyed Pakistani border posts, scorching them to the ground in J&K's Keran sector.

Mandeep was beeaded by terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, and his head was reportedly taken back across the border. His brother Sandeep Singh demanded that the family wanted 10 Pakistani heads for the price of one.

Terrorists, aided by the cover fire by Pakistani Army, crossed the Line of Control (LoC) on Saturday night and killed sepoy Mandeep Singh and mutilated his body in Macchil sector of Kupwara district.

The family members of the 30-year-old martyr were inconsolable.

Several women from Aantehri village in Kurukshetra reached the martyr's house and tried to console the martyr's widow Prerna. The couple had got married two years ago, family members said. Prerna is a head constable with Haryana police and posted at Shahbad Markanda in Kurukshetra.

Mandeep's father said the Indian Army should give a befitting reply to Pakistan.

"It was his duty, he has done it. He sacrificed his life. We should give a befitting reply to Pakistan," he said, adding that he got the news of his son's death when Army personnel visited him at his home at 1am.