Shimla, Feb 15 (IANS): Constable Tilak Raj, one of the CRPF troopers killed in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Thursday afternoon, was a popular Himachali folk singer and a kabbadi player, his friends said on Friday.

Raj, 31, who had joined duty on Monday (February 11) after availing leave, is survived by his parents, wife and two sons.

"Tilak Raj had sung many popular folk songs in local dialect," Dhewa village head Afsar Singh told IANS over phone.

He said that when Raj was off duty he used to pen songs and get them recorded when he was on leave.

"This time when he was on leave, he was planning to get his songs recorded but couldn't do so as his wife was in the family way," the village head said.

His elder son is two-years-old and the younger one is 15-days-old.

The martyred trooper was also known for organizing kabbadi matches in his village.

"Whenever he was in the village, he used to organise kabbadi matches," another villager Bhagwan Das said.

Raj joined the paramilitary force in April 2007.

Condemning the cowardly attack, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur deputed his Cabinet Minister Kishan Kapoor and legislator Arjun Singh to visit the family to condole the death of Raj.

Thakur said those involved in this incident would not go unpunished.