LoC row: Slain jawan's family calls off fast

Martyred jawan Hemraj's family members and residents of his village Khairair on Saturday called off their fast after their demands were met by the Uttar Pradesh government.

"Since not only all our demands have been accepted but work on some of them has also started, we have called off the indefinite fast," village pradhan Dharmveer said.

"The demands virtually had been fulfilled by caretaker minister Durga Prasad during his visit to the village recently. The administration has started work now," said Sub Divisional Magistrate Anil Mishra.

Earlier, the administration had to pass through some anxious moments after the news of the indefinite fast by Hemraj's family members and villagers spread like wild fire.

Since neither Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav nor any representative of the central government was present at his cremation, the irate villagers decided to go on an indefinite fast, Pradhan stated.

"Villagers, along with his family members including his widow Dharmvati sat for dharna at 9 am. However, the dharna was lifted at 3 pm, when we received a telephone call from the Chief Minister's Secretariat," Pradhan said.

"The demands about opening a college in the Hemraj's memory, inclusion of the village in Lohiya Samagra Vikas Yojna and grant of Rs 20 lakh to the bereaved family have been accepted. The beautification of Hemraj Park and construction of an approach road in Hemraj's memory has since started. Therefore we have terminated the indefinite fast," Mishra added.

"We are also satisfied with the submission of the Chief Minister's secretariat -- that it will persuade the central government about allotting either a gas agency or a petrol pump to Hemraj's widow," he added.

Hemraj, 29, hailed from Khairair village in Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh.

On January 8, Pakistan Army personnel had infiltrated inside Indian territory in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir. They killed and mutilated bodies of Lance Naiks Sudhakar Singh and Hemraj, who belonged to 13 Rajputana Rifles.