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Advani returns with a hero's ashes

The urn carrying the ashes of Lance Naik Mukesh Rathore of 12 Mahar Regiment, who fell to enemy bullets in Mushkoh valley, was brought to Ahmedabad last night by Union Home Minister L K Advani. The last rites on Mukesh's body were performed in Jammu and Kashmir.

At a condolence meeting held in the Meghaninagar area here, part of Advani's Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said the recent spurt in the terrorist killings involving innocent, soft targets was ample proof that Pakistan had accepted defeat in Kargil.

Advani paid glowing tributes to Rathore, saying that a wave of patriotism was sweeping the country as our brave jawans sacrificed their lives while defending our borders.

Thousands present at the ''Veer Samman Samaroh'' waited for more than three hours for the arrival of the urn. Thousands others joined the procession from the airport where Advani handed over the urn to Ramniklal Rathore, Mukesh's father.

At the condolence meeting a cheque of half a million rupees was presented to the bereaved Rathore family by Advani.

Naik Subedar Ranjeet Singh of the 12-Mahar Regiment, who came to Ahmedabad straight from the battlefield, could not hold back his tears as he narrated how Rathore bravely faced enemy bullets before laying down his life.

''We were all together on June 4 when we launched an attack on a ridgeline occupied by the enemy. Mukesh was badly injured in the attack and fell in a gorge. On June 25-26, when we launched yet another attack on the ridge, we found his body. His knees and elbows were badly bruised. His body was blood stained, telling the tale of his heroic struggle to survive,'' he said in a choked voice.

Gujarat has so far lost seven men in the fight against the intruders in the Kashmir valley. They are: Ashok Sinh Jadeja and Mahipat Sinh Jadeja (both from Jamnagar), Dilip Chouhan (Surendranagar), Mukesh Rathore (Ahmedabad), Dinesh Mohan Vaghela (Kheda), Harendra Giri Goswami (Junagadh) and Shailendra Kumar Neenama (Sabarkantha district).

UNI

The Kargil Crisis

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