Hundreds of students of Madurai Kamaraj University and its faculty members paid homage on Monday to the 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers killed recently in a suicide bombing in Jammu and Kashmir.

Senior officials paid floral tributes to the portraits of the two soldiers who hailed from Tamil Nadu. Later, the gathered staff and faculty observed a minute of silence as a mark of respect.

Addressing the gathering, Vice-Chancellor of MKU M. Krishnan recollected his experience of visiting Jammu and Kashmir as part of National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

“Even the NAAC teams would be provided tight security. I used to wonder if that was really necessary since I was in my own country. The recent incident has proven the importance of stringent security measures,” he said.

Stressing the importance of national unity to safeguard the country, he said that the entire country stood with the families of the martyred soldiers. “Today, it is an inconsolable loss from the families. Nevertheless, they will one day feel proud that one of their family members sacrificed their life for the country,” he said.

A candle-light vigil to honour the soldiers was organised at Setupati Higher Secondary School on Monday night by Bharathi Yuva Kendra. Tiruchi Kalyanaraman presided and addressed hundreds of people gathered at the meeting.