Agartala, Dec. 2: Lance Naik Chittaranjan Debbarma, who was killed in the terror attack at Nagrota in Jammu on Tuesday, was today laid to rest at his ancestral village Kairingbari in Khowai subdivision of Tripura.

His body was brought in a special army aircraft last evening to Agartala where Brigadier Maninder Singh of the Eastern Command and a host of army and civil officials paid homage.

A helicopter carrying Debbarma's coffin landed at Kairingbari under Kalyanpur police station. Eight jawans carried the coffin, which was draped in the Tricolour, to Debbarma's house. His wife Namita and children Inlek and Kotlai broke down on seeing the coffin.

The chairman of the autonomous district council, Ranjit Debbarma, state forest minister Naresh Jamatya, Khowai district magistrate Apurba Roy, sub-divisional magistrate Prasun Dey and army officers, including Brig. Singh, paid floral tributes to Debbarma.

Slogans of "Bharat Mata ki jai" and "Shahid Chittaranjan amar rahe" rent the air as thousands of people from Khowai town and nearby villages bid a tearful adieu to the martyr.

Debbarma was given full military honours and gun salute by eight jawans before his body was buried in a cemetery close to Kairingbari village around 10.15am.

Namita said she had gone out when her husband made the last call. "Having inquired about me and the children, he had told his elder brother that he was in the midst of an attack at Nagrota and this might be his last call. He also requested his elder brother and all family members to pray for him," she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. She said she had tried many times to contact her husband but there was no response.

On Tuesday evening, havildar Mukesh Ranjan, a close friend of Debbarma, had called up to give her the worst news of her life.

Chief minister Manik Sarkar, governor Tathagata Roy and many other dignitaries expressed condolences to the bereaved family.