A pall of gloom descended on Mira Road, a township in Maharashtra as people joined the last rites of martyred Indian soldier Major Kaustabh Rane, who was martyred in Jammu-Kashmir. He was among the four army personnel killed in a gunfight with terrorists near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district on Tuesday. His family, friends and residents showered flowers, raised slogans "Major Kaustubh Rane, Amar Rahe", "Vande Mataram" and "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" as a flower-laden army truck took him to the crematorium.
An editorial in the Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' termed the Supreme Court order as the victory of "women power", and said the Centre needs to change its attitude and vision. The apex court's verdict meant there was a problem in the central government's "mental frame", it said.
The IAF received a total of 13 awards including five Yudh Seva Medals and seven Vayu Sena Medal.