Lance Naik Vedmitra Chaudhury's funeral took place in his village, Shamli, today.
Female foeticide to honour killing and rape - Meerut has seen every sort of brutality against women. So it was a shock for this rough western Uttar Pradesh town, locals said, when an army man paid with his life while trying to protect a girl from molestation.
Lance Naik Vedmitra Chaudhury, 35, was beaten to death by three men on Thursday.
Around 5.30 in the evening, the girl, 24, had gone to deliver some tea to her father, who runs a dairy in the area. But some of the men in the shop had targeted her, catcalling and passing lewd comments. The jawan, who had come to buy milk, had intervened.
"One of the boys slapped the jawan and a fight broke out. More men from the village came with weapons in hand and beat up the man till he collapsed," said the girl's father, who had been witness to the event.
Mr Chaudhury, who lived in the city with his wife and children, was admitted to an Army Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday, the police said. His funeral was held in his village, Shamli, today.
The girl he saved said the harassment had been on for six days, but she was scared of telling her parents. "I thought the blame would come on me and my parents would stop my education," said the girl, who one day wants to be a civil services officer.
Now the whole family is living under the fear of retaliation by the gang.
Even after three days of the incident, they don't have police protection. The statement of the girl is yet to be recorded and only three out of the eight people named in the case have been arrested.
The police say they had been busy - with preparations for Independence Day. Dismissing the possibility of threat to the family, city Superintendent of Police Om Prakash said, "I have my eyes on them."
Lance Naik Vedmitra Chaudhury who was killed while trying to protect a girl from harassment