Chandigarh: The family of Agniveer Akashdeep Singh, a young soldier who died in Jammu and Kashmir last week, has refused to immerse his ashes until the government declares him a martyr.
It may be recalled that Akashdeep, 20, a resident of Kothe Chahal village in Faridkot district, was killed by a bullet while on duty on May 15, last. His mortal remains were brought to his native village where he was cremated with full military honours the next day.
The inconsolable family held that he gave his life for the country but the government is not giving him the respect he deserves, hence, until he is declared a martyr, they would not immerse his ashes.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday also demanded that it was high time that the government of India should scrap the ‘agnipath’ scheme of recruitment in the defence forces and make regular recruitments only.
He said, it has been observed after some ‘agniveers’ got martyred that they were neither granted pension nor the status of a martyr, when they fight like regular soldiers.
Warring held that the northern states like Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh from where maximum recruitments are made, were the worst affected by this scheme.
