Kin to receive mortal remains of 4 Himachal youths today

DHARAMSHALA: Mortal remains of the four youth from Himachal Pradesh, who were killed by the ISIS in Mosul, Iraq, arrived here on Monday evening. However, the bodies have been kept in mortuaries under the supervision of medical officers concerned and would be handed over to the families on Tuesday morning. The state authorities have assisted the grief-stricken families by transporting the mortal remains at their doorstep.
The bodies of three youths from Kangra district, including Sandeep Kumar Rana from Dhameta village near Pong Dam, Aman Kumar from Passu village near Dharamshala and Inderjeet from Kadreti village in Dehra tehsil, and Hemraj from Mandi were received on behalf of the state government by minister for food and civil supplies Kishan Kapoor and Kangra deputy commissioner (DC)Sandeep Kumar at Amritsar airport.
Kangra DC Sandeep Kumar said since the bodies were brought out of Amritsar international airport after completing all formalities at about 4 pm, they could not be cremated on Monday.
While the mortal remains of Sandeep Kumar Rana would be kept in Nurpur civil hospital mortuary, those of the other three youth would be kept at Tanda medical college.
No one from the families of these youths had gone to Amritsar. Balwant Kumar, a relative of Sandeep Kumar, told TOI that they were told by the government authorities that the bodies would reach home on April 3.
“As the authorities assured us regarding the same, no one from here went to Amritsar. We would be waiting for the bodies at our native places only,” he added.
The mortal remains of the four youths from Himachal Pradesh along with other 35 other Indians were found buried in a mass grave in Mosul in Iraq. Their identities could only be confirmed through DNA testing. Officials of the Union government had collected DNA samples of family members of the deceased in September last year for the purpose.
The bodies are being bought in sealed boxes in ambulances arranged by the state government. Sources here said the family members of the deceased had been asked to cremate the last remains along with the boxes and not open them.
According to Kishan Kapoor, the state government has announced an ex-gratia grant of Rs 4 lakh to the families of the killed youth. “Since the Punjab government has on Monday announced Rs 5 lakh each for the youth killed in Iraq, I shall discuss the matter with CM Jai Ram Thakur and try to increase the grant for the families of Himachal youth as well,” he said, adding that the state government would provide all the help needed to the bereaved families. “It was an unfortunate incident and steps would be taken to check the travel agents, who misguide youth into working in trouble-torn countries,” Kapoor said.