Jhalda shuts down to honour slain IB officer

Jhalda: Residents of Jhalda observed a bandh-like condolence for 12 hours on Thursday, mourning Manish Ranjan Mishra, who was among the victims of the terrorist attack in Kashmir. They bade a tearful adieu to the IB officer whose house is in ward 5 of Jhalda Municipality.Mishra, a DSP-rank officer with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) posted in Hyderabad, went to Pahalgam on vacation with his wife Jaya and two children. Around 10 am, the coffin carrying Mishra's body was flown to Birsa Munda airport in Ranchi. Following a guard of honour at Ranchi CRPF camp, the coffin was taken to Jhalda in an ambulance. The victim's family members and officials from the Purulia district administration followed the ambulance in separate cars.Locals surrounded the ambulance as it reached Mishra's hometown around 12.30 pm. Purulia SP Abhijit Banerjee and additional SP Jadawar Avinash Bhimrao carried the coffin on their shoulders to Mishra's house, about 50 m away from the ambulance. Mishra's wife Jaya lost consciousness in the car and was carried into her house on a stretcher. Their 12-year-old son Samriddh was crying inconsolably. The locals, district administration officials, cops, and politicians, including BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar, Purulia MP Jyotirmoy Singh Mahato, and minister of state for consumer affairs Srikanta Mahato, paid him floral tributes.Mishra's cousin Sneha said, "My brother was riding a horse while his wife and children were standing about 20-30 m away. Suddenly, the terrorists rode to him on horses and asked for his identity. He got off and tried to save others. But the taga on his arm was visible, and the terrorists made gestures at themselves before shooting him.""The terrorists also targeted his son. My sister-in-law started running with the children. First, they hid behind a shop and then ran to a nearby forest to save their lives. My sister-in-law was taken ill after this incident, and she was admitted to a local hospital in Kashmir that day," she said.In the afternoon, the residents marched in a rally with Mishra's body from his house to the crematorium, holding Indian flags. The local police gave a guard of honour at the crematorium before the last rites.