Mumbai couple donates over Rs 1 lakh travel savings to martyred soldier’s family

A Mumbai-based couple, having saved over Rs 1.09 lakh for a foreign vacation, were on the point of finalising their travel plans when news of young Havildar Murali Naik’s martyrdom on the Line of Control (LoC) shattered their excitement.

Shaken by the loss, the couple decided to donate the funds directly to Murali’s parents in Andhra Pradesh.

“It did not feel right to indulge in travel pleasures while families like Murali’s mourn silently,” they reportedly said to youth platform We Are Yuvaa.

On the night of May 8, 2025, amid escalating cross-border tensions, Havildar Murali was killed while manning the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

Murali, originally from the Kallithanda village in Sri Sathya Sai district, Andhra Pradesh, had spent his formative years in Mumbai’s Kamraj Nagar. Known for his quiet strength and ambition to serve in the armed forces, he was the only child of Sriram and Lakshmi Naik – a humble family of labourers recently displaced by redevelopment and forced to return to their ancestral village.

“My son gave his life for the country,” said Murali’s father. “Now we are like orphans.”

On May 10, when Murali’s mortal remains reached Kallithanda, a wave of grief engulfed the village. The soldier’s final journey was marked by a full military funeral, complete with a 21-gun salute and state honours. His coffin, wrapped in the tricolour, was laid to rest in the same soil he once tilled as a child.

To honour his sacrifice, the Andhra Pradesh government announced Rs 50 lakh in ex gratia compensation, a five-acre land allotment, a 300-square-yard housing site and a government job for the family.

Among those present at the final rites was Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan.

He hailed Murali as “a brave son of Bharat” at the funeral and on social media.