The remote village of Thrikkaipetta in Wayanad district, mostly inhabited by tribal people, was bustling on Saturday as scroes of people, including state ministers, visited the area to pay their respects to V V Vasantha Kumar, one of the CRPF jawans who was killed in the Pulwama terror attack.
Vasantha’s body reached the Calicut International Airport by 2.30 pm on Saturday, and was received by Minister for Industries, E P Jayarajan, with state honours. From there, the body was taken by road to his home at Lakkidi in Wayanad, where Vasantha’s wife and children live. E P Jayarajan did the honours on behalf of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and District Collector Amit Meena did the honours on behalf of the state’s Governor. Transport minister A K Saseendran, Minister for Local Bodies K T Jaleel and Union Minister Alphonse Kannanthanam paid tribute to the jawan. The body was also kept at Lakkidi LP School, where Vasantha studied, for the public to pay homage.
Meanwhile, Vasantha’s ancestral home at Mukkumkunnu in Thrikkaipetta saw an influx of people on Saturday morning from people who wished to pay their last respects to the jawan and witness the last rites. Vasantha’s mortal remains was brought to Vazhakkandi (his ancestral home) by 9 pm on Saturday, with people chanting chanted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ with all their might.
Vasantha’s last rites were conducted according to the traditions of the Kuruma tribe, which he belonged to. His mortal remains were brought to a temporary ‘devapura’, a place where all the functions of the tribe was held, near to his ancestral house. As per the tribe’s customs, the body of a deceased person will only be buried and not cremated.
The mortal remains of jawan was kept at the ‘devapura’ for about an hour for the public to pay homage. By 10 pm, his body was taken to the common burial ground of Vazhakkandi family, which was situated up the hills, a few meters away from the house, following which he was with state honours. The guard of honour was given by state police officials followed by CRPF personnel. State minister Ramachandran Kadannappally, officials of CRPF, Indian Navy and state police were present at the funeral function.