BSF man killed in Kosovo to be cremated Friday

The last rites of Border Security Force officer Satish Menon, who was killed while on United Nations' duty in Kosovo, will be performed at the Lodi Crematorium in New Delhi on Friday, according to his relatives and BSF officials.

The original plan was to take the body to his hometown Kochi, Kerala, but it has been changed because several of his relatives and friends are in New Delhi.

"His body is expected tomorrow night at 11.45 pm," Vijaykumar, Menon's brother-in-law, told rediff.com on Wednesday.

A UN representative and an Indian officer from the UN's Kosovo mission will accompany the body, which will be flown in on a Swiss Airways flight, Vijaykumar, who is with the Central Bureau of Investigation, said.

"He was a very helpful man and a simple soul. All of us liked him a lot," said one of his BSF colleagues who served with him in Jammu and Kashmir.

Menon spent nearly six years in J&K in active counterinsurgency operations. He was posted in Baramullah and Doda among other places.

He joined the BSF's flying wing in 1989 after an eight-year stint with the air force.

"He was sincere to his job. I am proud of him," his wife Leela said, trying to hold back tears.

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Leela is a picture of serene calm, her children -- son Arvind (7) and daughter Aparna (8) -- are trying to figure out what has befallen them.

Aparna and Arvind are in class IV and III at the Air Force Bal Bharati School in New Delhi.

Friends, who came to pay their condolences at the Pragati Vihar quarters of Menon, were all stunned.

"He survived Kashmir. He had to go all the way to Kosovo to meet his end," said another colleague, adding, "It is all destiny."

Menon's mother, three sisters and other relatives arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday from Kerala and other parts.