Hisar, April 1
Tens of thousands of people bade a tearful adieu to the noted industrialist and Haryana Power Minister Om Prakash Jindal who was killed in a helicopter crash near Saharanpur yesterday.
Jindal’s mortal remains were brought to his residence and were consigned to flames with full state and military honours here today.
A number of Union and state leaders, including Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his Cabinet colleagues, Union ministers Shivraj Patil, Kumari Selja and Kamalnath, Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi, Haryana Congress president Bhajan Lal, local MP Jai Prakash, senior BJP leaders Sahib Singh Verma and Ganeshi Lal, INLD leaders Sampat Singh and Ajay Chautala, Haryana Chief Secretary Sunil Ahuja, Hisar Commissioner and IGP were among those who attended the funeral ceremony of the departed leader.
Jindal’s eldest son, Prithvi Raj, lit the funeral pyre amidst the chanting of religious hymns and blowing of conches by a group of priests, including the family priest of the Jindals.
Jindal’s other sons Naveen, Sajjan and Rattan also participated in the ceremony.
A huge gathering, including a large number of
employees of Jindal’s factories, raised slogans like “O.P. Jindal amar rahe” and “Jab tak suraj chaand rahega, Jindal tera naam rahega” during the cremation ceremony.
Earlier, the mortal remains of Jindal, wrapped in Tricolour, were taken to the cremation ground behind the Jindal Industry in an open truck. Tens of thousands of people participated in the funeral procession while thousands others watched the procession from the rooftops. Almost every inch of space from the Jindal House to the cremation site was occupied by the followers and supporters of the leader.
Inhabitants of several houses along the road leading to the cremation ground had made arrangements to serve drinking water to the members of the funeral procession.
The police personnel deployed at the cremation ground had a tough time controlling the people who desperately wanted to have last “darshan” of their beloved leader. Apart from his wife, four sons and five daughters, Jindal has left behind a large family comprising thousands of employees who will remember him forever as their respected “Bauji”.
