Martyred CRPF jawan Pradeep Panda's body arrives in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The body of CRPF jawan Pradeep Panda who was martyred during a fierce gun battle between security forces and terrorists at CRPF training centre in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir was brought to Odisha today.

Pradeep's body was flown from the CRPF centre to New Delhi and then to Bhubaneswar airport where he was given a guard of honour by CRPF personnel. The Odisha Home department also paid tributes to the jawan at the Bhubaneswar airport.

Pradeep's mortal remains will be consigned to flames at his ancestral Liploi village in Rajgangpur of Sundergarh district tomorrow.

Five jawans including Pradeep were killed in a brazen terrorist attack in Lathpora area in Pulwama in the wee hours of Sunday. According to reports, Pradeep was shot dead by militants who were hiding inside the CRPF camp.

CRPF termed Pradeep as a 'Gallant Gem' of the force and a 'legendary expert of face to face gunfight'. He was awarded with Police Medal for Gallantry on Independence Day 2017 for his gallant endeavours, informed CRPF sources.