Thousands bid farewell to Rajbir Jawanda at Ludhiana village

Punjabi singer Rajbir Jawanda was cremated at a government school ground in his native village of Pona near Jagraon in Ludhiana district – a place where he spent his childhood, prepared for the physical test for recruitment in the Punjab Police and later performed concerts during his career.

Thousands of fans, including prominent figures from the music industry, joined the funeral procession that passed through the village from Jawanda's residence to the school ground to bid the final farewell to the cop-turned-singer.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, along with his cabinet colleagues and AAP legislators, visited Jawanda's residence to offer condolences to the grieving family.

Kulwinder Billa, Harbhajan Mann, Babbu Mann, Kanwar Grewal, Satwinder Kaur Bitti, Rupinder Handa, Gurlej Akhtar, Pukhraj Bhalla, Ranjit Bawa, Hardeep Singh, Pinki Dhaliwal, Jasvir Pal Singh, Resham Anmol, Arshdeep Kaler, Gagan Kokri, Jasvir Jassi, Ammey Virk, Sukhwinder Sukhi, Pukhraj Bhalla, Karamjit Anmol, and Malkit Rauni were among dozens of stars from the music industry who paid tributes to Rajvir at his residence.

Police personnel were on high alert, making arrangements to accommodate the growing number of mourners arriving across Punjab and neighbouring states, including Haryana and Rajasthan.

Cops who had worked with Jawanda during his service in Ludhiana (Rural) were observed striking emotional chords with the deceased's friends and relatives.

DSP (D) Inderjit Singh Boparai, deployed at Jawanda's residence, recollected Rajvir’s commitment to his job besides his love for music. “Rajvir and his late father Karam Singh had worked with me during my service in Ludhiana (Rural), and both were devoted to their jobs, besides continuing their social and artistic lives,” said Boparai.

Villagers led by sarpanch Harpreet Singh Raju were all out taking care of the needs of mourners coming from far off places. Jawanda suffered serious head and spinal injuries in a road accident near Baddi, Himachal Pradesh on September 27. He succumbed to multiple organ failure on Wednesday.