NASHIK: The last rites of martyred Assistant CRPF Commandant Nitin Bhalerao were performed with full government honours at Nashik Amardham on Sunday evening. Amid chants of “Nitin Bhalerao Amar Rahe”, Nashikites bade a tearful adieu to Bhalerao, adhering to Covid safety norms. District Guardian Minister Chhagan Bhujbal laid a wreath and paid tributes to the martyr Bhalerao. Inspector General of Police, CRPF Sanjay Latkar, city Commissioner of Police Deepak Pandey, Inspector General of Police (Nashik circle) Pratap Dighavkar, District Collector Suraj Mandhare and Superintendent of Police Sachin Patil also laid wreaths and paid tributes.
The CRPF team gave a gun salute to Bhalero. Assistant CRPF Commandant Nitin Bhalerao martyred in a blast carried out by Naxals at Sukma in Chhattisgarh. Ten personnel were injured in the blast.
Naxals detonated two IEDs in the Tadmet area on Saturday night. The Cobra 206 battalion got injured in the blast. Among them was Nitin Bhalerao. The injured were airlifted to Raipur for treatment. However, Bhalerao succumbed to the injuries at the hospital during treatment. After that, his body was brought to Ojhar airport by air from Raipur around 2 pm. From there, it was brought to his residence at Rajivnagar in the city.
Later the mortal remains of Bhalerao were taken to Nashik Amardham by the procession, and the last rites were performed there. District Guardian Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, District Collector Suraj Mandhare, city Commissioner of Police Deepak Pandey, CRPF officials, and Nashikites paid a tribute to him. Bhalerao is survived by mother, two brothers, wife, and daughter. Bhalerao, a resident of Nashik, was a decorated commando and had been adjudged the best in various combat competitions.
He joined the CRPF in 2010 and had come to CoBRA in 2019. He had also performed his duties at Gandhinagar, Jammu, Pahelgaom, Lok Sabha gate number 2, Prime Minister’s Office, the residence of Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi), Mathura and posted at Raipur last.
