Thousands turn up for slain CRPF constable Sudip Biswas' last rites

 Tehatta (West Bengal), Feb 17:He had promised to bring football and bat for the youngsters on his next visit to his village. But instead, the kids and numerous other people of his locality and far off places had to give a teary-eyed farewell to slain CRPF constable Sudip Biswas at the very playground where he had honed his sporting skills since childhood.

Biswas, one of the 49 troopers killed in the Pulwama suicide bomb blast on Thursday, was cremated with full state honours at his native Hanspukuria village in Tehatta block of West Bengal's Nadia district.

The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and personnel from other central forces and state police brought Biswas' body in a slow march, in the presence of thousands of grief-stricken locals, many of whom had been waiting patiently for hours.

"He had promised to bring bat and football for the kids. But little did we know he would come to us in this state," lamented a local resident.

With the bugle playing the last post, the men in uniform accorded Biswas a guard of honour, and then reversed their arms for a gun salute.