THE REGIMENTAL staff stood guard as the wreath-covered body was carried forward by his uniformed comrades.

The Capital today paid tributes to Captain Amit Verma of the Nine Mahar regiment who was killed in the action in Kargil. The 23-year-old soldier was the only son of his proud parents and a third generation army officer. His grandfather is a retired major and the father a retired colonel. Both had been in battles but Amit was the only one on whom martyrdom was bestowed in Kargil.

The entire neighbourhood gathered around the C-4 Inderpuri residence of the departed soldier. The area MLA Puran Chandra Yogi and a host of police officials were also present amongst the mourners. People abandoned their routine chores to share the grief of the bereaved family. All was quiet and solemn as the funeral procession marched towards the Brar Square where the cremation was done.

Captain Verma was third in the line of gallant young men from Delhi who laid down their lives while fighting the enemy on Kargil front. Captain Haneefuddin was the first whose unparalleled valour earned him the admiration of his peers. He died while fighting intruders in the Turtuk sub-sector which was later renamed after him. Next was young Captain Sumit Roy who was killed while fighting to capture the strategic Tiger Hills near Drass.

Captain Sumit Roy was barely 21 when he made the supreme sacrifice. Captain Verma was a couple of years older than his other two colleagues from Delhi but still a child as far as his parents al least were concerned. His grief-stricken mother wiped his cold forehead with her dupatta while he was being lifted by his colleagues to be taken for cremation. “We had never expected this. All the dangers and fears are over now. Nothing is left,” she said crying softly.