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Jawans of the Rajputana Rifles regiment fired thrice in the air, reversed their arms and sounded the last post as many an eye welled up with tears as Rashmi Kant, the elder son of the late leader, lit the funeral pyre at 1725 hours IST in the presence of Kant's 97-year-old mother Satyawati, wife Suman, younger son Sukant, daughter Divya Handa and grandchildren.
Some relatives and friends broke down and even some VVIPs were seen trying hard to control their emotions.
President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani, Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi, former president R Venkataraman, former prime ministers I K Gujral and H D Deve Gowda, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptulla, Leader of Opposition Sonia Gandhi, NDA vice-presidential nominee B S Shekhawat, and several chief ministers and governors placed wreaths on Kant's body.
Several members of the diplomatic corps were also present to pay their last respects to Kant who died in Delhi on Saturday of a massive heart attack.
Earlier, the body draped in the tricolour was brought from Kant's Maulana Azad Road residence to the Nigambodh Ghat in a gun carriage escorted by personnel of the three armed forces.
Police had made tight security arrangements in view of the presence of a large number of VVIPs.
The national flag flew at half-mast as the country observed a three-day state mourning as a mark of respect to the veteran freedom fighter and Gandhian who was to demit office in August.
Krishan Kant's demise: Complete Coverage
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