The mortal remains of the soldiers who were killed by Chinese troops during clashes were taken to their native places on Wednesday night. While CO, Col B Santosh Babu, was from Telangana, the others came from Bihar, UP, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

As the remains of Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu arrived at his residence in Vidyanagar in Telangana, the emotionally-charged crowd was seen holding national flags and raising slogans of “Santosh Babu amar hai” as the tricolor-wrapped coffin was brought out of the ambulance by army personnel.

Similar scenes were seen in Bihar when the mortal remains of Havildar Sunil Kumar were brought by a special aircraft.

Jharkhand grieved the loss of Kundan Kumar Ojha and Ganesh Hansda.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced Rs 25 lakh each as ex-gratia to the families of two slain soldiers from the state. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh declared an ex-gratia compensation of up to 12 lakh, along with a government job to a next of kin of the deceased.

Meanwhile, among all Indians, cricketing stars Virat Kohli, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh too paid tributes and lauded the sacrifice of the fighters.

“Salute and deepest respect to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect our country in the Galwan Valley. NO one is more selfless and brave than a soldier.

Sincere condolences to the families. I hope they find peace through our prayers at this difficult time,” Kohli wrote on his twitter page.

Tendulkar wrote, “Our martyrs will continue to live through the lives that they have inspired with the heroic acts to protect our motherland. A nation mourns its brave jawans and stands by their selfless parents and families. Deepest condolences and may you all rest in peace. “

Yuvraj Singh tweeted, “I salute the courage of our Indian soldiers who have been martyred at #GalwanValley. All these atrocities must stop and hope we can have a peaceful world where human life is valued. My thoughts are with the bereaved families, I pray for their strength.”

Rohit Sharma and Bhaichung Bhutia are other sportsmen who paid their tributes to the brave souls.