As they mourned the loss of four CRPF men from Punjab, the grief of families and villagers was etched with anger as they demanded that Pakistan be given a befitting reply over the Pulwama attack.
The four personnel were among the 40 killed in the attack a Central Reserve Paramilitary Force (CRPF) convoy on Thursday.
Jaimal Singh from Kot ise Kham village in Moga, Sukhjinder Singh from Gandiwind village in Tarn Taran, Kulwinder Singh from Rauli village in Anandpur Sahib and Maninder Singh Attri from Arya Nagar village in Gurdsapur died in the attack.
Heartbreaking scenes were witnessed in the villages as families mourned the loss of their loved ones.
Locals gathered in large numbers to join the mourning and expressed pride in the jawans' sacrifice for the country and demanded that Pakistan be given a befitting reply.
Jaimal Singh was the driver of the bus that was blown up by a suicide bomber who rammed his explosive-laden SUV into it on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in Awantipora area.
His father, Jaswant Singh, said he was proud of Jaimal for sacrificing his life for the motherland. He said his son had spoken to his wife and five-year-old son on Tuesday night.
In Tarn Taran's Gandiwind village, located near Amritsar, the family of 35-year-old Sukhjinder Singh was inconsolable. He had recently joined duty after a long vacation, villagers said.
Panchayat member Angrez Singh said Sukhjinder had got married five to six years back and he was the father to an infant boy.