NEW DELHI: Several candlelight vigils and prayers meetings were organised across the country to express solidarity with the families of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans killed in Pulwama attack.
The security forces on Friday took out a candlelight march in Hyderabad`s Telangana condemning the ghastly terror attack in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir.
Hundreds of people congregated at India Gate and Jantar Mantar to hold candlelight marches as a mark of protest and to pay tributes to martyrs of Pulwama attack.
At Port Blair and Ladakh, hundreds of people gathered at various places and lighted candles and condemn the cowardly act.
"We feel ashamed of being a part of Kashmir that supports terrorist activities. Ladakhis are peace-loving and patriotic people," Ladakh Buddhist Association President Tsewang Thinles said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajyavardhan Rathore, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force paid tributes to the CRPF personnel who were killed in Pulwama terror attack.
The mortal remains of 40 CRPF personnel, wrapped in tricolour, were brought to Palam airport on Friday evening.
Most of the soldiers, who fell victim to the dastardly terror attack in Pulwama that shook the nation hailed from Uttar Pradesh.
Ten of the 40 martyred soldiers were from Uttar Pradesh, five hailed from Rajasthan, four were from Punjab while two each belonged to Maharashtra and Uttarakhand.
Other soldiers who lost their lives were from Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Odisha, Karnataka, Assam and West Bengal.
Earlier in the day, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), made a review and an assessment of the situation on the ground.
Around 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed after a suicide bomber attacked a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir`s Pulwama district with a vehicle laden with explosives.
The convoy comprised of 78 buses in which around 2,500 personnel were travelling from Jammu to Srinagar - the slain personnel were in a bus which had 42 CRPF men on board.
JeM, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the attack which left the bus extensively damaged in the blast and ensuing gunfire on the vehicle.
Reflecting the outrage in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier on Friday said, “the blood of Indians is boiling” and issued a clear warning to Pakistan, declaring that the “guardians” of the perpetrators of the Pulwama terror attack will be “definitely punished”.
Asserting that a “befitting reply” will be given, he said, “our neighbouring country forgets that this (India) is a country with new intent and new policy.”
He said the terror organisations and their “guardians” have committed a “grave mistake” by carrying out the attack and that the Indian armed forces have been given a go-ahead to hit back at the “time”, “place” and “form” of their choosing.
He said Pakistan is making a “big mistake” by thinking that it can destabilise India “through its tactics and conspiracies.”
PM Modi urged the international community to unite to wipe out the scourge of terrorism and isolate those responsible for the menace.
The Prime Minister also thanked the countries which have supported India and condemned this incident in the strongest of terms.
(With Agency inputs)
