Itanagar, Aug. 11: Thousands turned up to attend the last rites of senior Congress leader Kalikho Pul at Hawai in Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh late this afternoon.
The 47-year-old Pul, who was chief minister of the state for over four months before the Supreme Court reinstalled the Naban Tuki-government on July 13 this year, was found dead in the chief minister's bungalow here on Tuesday morning. He had not vacated the bungalow as his residence here was being renovated.
The funeral was held 2km from his Walla residence in Hawai town, officer on special duty to Pul, Gemso Billai, told The Telegraph from Hawai this evening.
"He was cremated with full state honours. Two senior government officials and several MLAs attended the last rites. His three oldest sons lit the pyre. Over 3,000 mourners came. The atmosphere was very emotional," Billai added.
His mortal remains were flown to Hawai yesterday, along with his three wives, seven sons and officials.
The love and respect Pul enjoyed were there for all to see when BJP legislator from Tezu, Mohesh Chai, spoke on behalf of the family before the funeral.
"The untimely death of the visionary Pul was a big loss for the nation and his vision for the development of the state could be visibly seen at Hawai, which he had developed into a model district headquarters. Not only have his children become orphans but all those poor children whose studies he was personally financing," Chai said.
"He was not just a father figure for the people of his constituency Hayuliang and Anjaw district but was a jiwandata (saviour) of the poor and the needy in times of medical emergencies, bereavement and festivals. He was a binding force for the Mishmi community. I appeal to the authorities, especially those who are at the helm of affairs, to take forward Pul's vision to usher in development and peace," he said.
Altogether 21 persons flew to Hawai, 700km from here, this morning to attend the last rites, public relations officer to the chief minister, Ajay Saring told The Telegraph here.
Also in attendance were state BJP president Tapir Gao, Assam minister Parimal Suklabaidya and senior MLA Padma Hazarika.
However, neither chief minister Pema Khandu nor his cabinet colleagues attended the funeral, apparently to avoid law and order issues.
"We did not want any untoward incident to affect the last rites," an official source said, adding that Khandu, who took charge as chief minister on July 17, ensured a "fitting" farewell for Pul.
In his short stint, Pul is said to have won the hearts of the aam aadmi with his efforts to reach out to the needy and the ailing.
The day also saw two candlelit processions being taken out in the evening here, one by well-wishers of Pul from Indira Gandhi Park and the other by the Rajiv Gandhi University Students' Union from Doimukh.
They demanded a CBI probe into Pul's death, All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union's general secretary, Biru Nasi, said.
Itanagar was normal for the second day running after being on the edge for most part of Tuesday following the flash protest outside the chief minister's bungalow in the Niti Vihar area here.
However, mobile phone and Internet services remained disrupted for the second day running, though the state administration had yesterday said the order suspending SMS/data transfer following the flash protest had been lifted.
