Shalley Singh was offered a police job after his father, Inspector Udayveer Singh, died fighting militants in 1993. He quickly built a reputation, killing scores of militants and becoming a Dy SP in the J&K Special Operations Group. Yesterday, he died fighting Lashkar militants in Bhaderwah.

Dressed in the sherwani he would have worn on his wedding this June 27, his body was taken out for the last journey from his Gandhi Nagar home in Jammu today. His mother Darshan Kaur even performed the marriage rituals. Uncle Ranjit Singh Wazir said they were shopping for Shalley’s wedding when they were told he had been killed.

“The state police has lost one of its bravest and finest officers. It will be difficult to fill the void,” said IGP (Jammu) S P Vaid. Fellow officers called him Robin Hood for his many successes — Lashkar commander Abu Tallah was one of his many targets.