Dreams and lives lost: He said Jai Hind, and the phone went dead ...After the deadly attack on CRPF, here are stories of men who had dreams for their parents, family and village. All of that in tatters now. Some even desperately tried to say a few words as they were ambushed and dying. Here are stories of brave men and how their ambitions would never come true.
Wounded and dying, Constable Mallick wanted to talk to his wife
Bhubaneswar: Around 7 am on Tuesday, Constable Hrusikesh Mallick called up his wife Ahalyarani at their home in Brundabanpur village of Jajpur district. When she didn't pick up her mobile phone, he called up his nephew in Bhubaneswar and told him to let Ahalyarani know he had called.
It was much later that the nephew would realise why Mallick was so insistent. The family believes the constable with the CRPF's 62nd battalion may have been breathing his last, surrounded by Naxals, when he made the call. "After telling the nephew to inform Ahalyarani, he said `Jai Hind'. The call then went dead," says Mallick's younger brother Pitabas.
Mallick was the sole bread-earner of his large family of 14, and leaves behind wife, a 14-year old son and two daughters, aged 7 and 11. A Dalit and son of daily labourers, he endured difficult times to make it to the CRPF in 1994, having started out as a homeguard in Orissa Police with a measly salary.
He and Constable Jagneswar Nayak, 27, of Panisala village in the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district were among the two CRPF personnel from Orissa killed in the Dantewada attack. Long after the incident, their families had no inkling of what had happened.
"Though we knew that he was posted in Chhattisgarh, he never told us about his operation in Dantewada. After we heard about the attack, a cousin of mine working in CRPF in Jammu and Kashmir told us about my brother's possible death. But even then we did not know for sure," says Nayak's younger brother Sibakar.
When The Indian Express correspondent called up, Nayak's wife of two years, Shantilata, and his farmer parents were in a state of shock. The Constable has a one-year-old daughter, who was inconsolable.
Nayak, who joined the force in 2001, last visited his wife and parents 20 days ago and was supposed to come home in May this year. Even the local CRPF office in Bhubaneswar did not have proper information about the deaths as well as the contact details of the jawans till this afternoon. It was local politicians who first broke the news of Mallick's death to his family in Brundabanpur.
Hassan called to say he was dying and helpless
New Delhi: On Tuesday morning, just moments after he had been shot at, CRPF Head Constable Ali Hassan called up his wife to tell her to take care of herself and of their three young daughters. He also spoke briefly to his 80-year-old father, informing him of the incident and telling him that they were ambushed and there was no help available. "The phone got disconnected soon after and for the next three hours we kept calling him, but it went unanswered," says wife Tasleen Bano.
Hassan, 38, who was killed in the Dantewada Naxal attack on Tuesday, had incidentally "volunteered" to be a part of the operation against the Naxalites. "He said he wanted to climb up the hierarchial ladder in the CRPF with his work," says Tasleen.
A resident of Khatola village near Shahpur in Muzaffarnagar district, Hassan was supposed to come home three days from now, to help his father at the time of harvest on their modest farm. He last visited home five months back.
This is the second time in the past one year that tragedy has struck Hassan's family. Earlier last year, his three-year-old son Shahnawaz had died after he fell off the terrace of their house while playing with his siblings.
"When he called on Tuesday, he told my father he was injured badly and might not survive. He said the Naxals had ambushed them and there was no help available," Hassan's elder brother Taj Mohammed says. "We immediately called up Brij Mohan, the DIG of his battalion. He told us he was trying to get help."
Hassan's mother hasn't spoken a word since the news came, while Tasleen hasn't stopped crying. "I do not know what I will tell his daughters when I return with Hassan's body," Taj says.
His daughters Raviya, Saviya and Naziya are aged 9, 7 and 4. Family members say Hassan was always the brave one among his five brothers. "Since childhood, he dreamed of making it big," Taj Mohammed recalls. "He wanted to make his country proud. That is why he chose not to be a farmer like the rest of us."
Sopan's parents were to celebrate his wedding, but ended up waiting for his body
Mumbai: For the Amble family in Jalgaon, Tuesday was a busy day -- they had finally got the first draft of the wedding card of their son, Sopan. His father wanted Sopan's name and his designation -wireless operator -- written in bold. His mother wanted their family deity mentioned in both the pages, and his two brothers wanted the name of their late sister Asha mentioned in the card. On Wednesday morning, the family received a call saying that Sopan, 24, had died in the jungles of Dantewada.
Having joined the CRPF in 2004, Sopan was posted as a wireless operator in Chhattisgarh. His first stint was in Jammu and Kashmir.
"When we spoke about the wedding details this week on the phone, he had said that he will come home on the morning of May 14, just in time for the wedding," says elder brother Ashok. Father Kautik, a caterer, was excited that his son's wedding would have "simple but good food especially prepared by him", adds Ashok.
Sopan's last visit to his home in Wadali Wadala, Chalisgaon in Jalgaon, was in February. His sister had been detected with a serious liver infection, with remote chances of survival.
Sopan and his brothers took Asha to Mumbai's KEM Hospital where she breathed her last. "He was a man of few words and did not show much emotion, but he was the most hurt at Asha's death. At home, he never discussed work, but we knew that he was pas sionate about his job," says Ashok.
"All of us assist our father in his catering business. But he never showed interest in this business and wanted to join the Army. After he cleared his HSC exam, he applied and got selected for a job in the CRPF. Last year, he applied for a special training for the job of a wireless operator. He was clear about his priorities and duty always came first for him," says Ashok.
First the phone went dead, then came terrible news
Jhunjhunu: Rukmini Meena has been unconscious for over a day now and is lying in a hospital near Papurna village in Rajasthan's Jhunjhunu district. Doctors are not sure when she will recover.
It was early on Tuesday morning that the 26-year-old was told of her husband Assistant Commandant Bajrang Meena's death in the Naxal attack in Dantewada. Bajrang Meena, 32, was second-in-command of the company that was ambushed in Chhattisgarh.
Since she got the news, Rukmini hasn't spoken or stirred. Aunts and relatives are looking after her two-and-half-year-old daughter Ria.
"She had spoken to Bajrangji only on Monday night, at around 8 pm. He had returned to Dantewada 15 days ago after a vacation here. He told her that he was involved in an operation and would speak to her the next morning," said Rukmini's brother Om Prakash.
But the next morning had TV channels reporting the Naxals staging their deadliest attack till date, striking men of the 62nd Battalion of the CRPF. Rukmini immediately knew something was wrong. y "She tried calling his number repeatedly, but no one picked up. Later that morning, a CRPF man called back," Om Prakash said. She was told Meena was among those killed in the attack, and that his s body had not yet been found. "My sister fell unconscious."
Bajrang's brother Kailash Meena (46), a Head Constable with the Jaipur city police, is inconsolable.
"He was the youngest brother of four and the brightest. Our father died when we were young and I saved every paisa of my constable salary to educate Bajrang. We were so proud when he became an officer. Now all that is shattered," Kailash said.
Over 1000 naxals plan a deadly strike and the intelligence did not know?
In Lakhu, 30 km away from Jhunjhunu, is another bereaved family, that of Meena's commanding officer, Deputy Commandant Satyavan Singh Yadav (46). Like Meena, Yadav hailed from a forces family -- brother Sumer (56) had retired as a CRPF commandant. Yadav was the family hero. He had served in the Special Protection Group (SPG) with all Prime Ministers, from Rajiv Gandhi to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and was promoted only six months ago.
The youngest of five brothers, he left behind wife Rajbala and two sons, Nitin (16) and Sanjeet (22). "We found out at 10 am. I know several people serving in Dantewada. I spoke to him only three days ago when he said he was leading an operation into Naxal territory," Sumer said. Both Papurna and Lakhu villages pride themselves on the fact that most of their families have at least one member serving in the forces. And on the fact that residents have given their lives in almost every war post-Independence.
But these are deaths they can't comprehend or accept. "Yeh to dhokha hai (this is treachery)," says Meena's brother Badri. "He was not fighting an external enemy but his own countrymen who killed him. How can his death be justified? In this area, most families send one member to the forces. But if our sons, fathers and brothers have to die fighting Naxals in poor conditions, we will stop sending our people," Sumer said.
"The government dithers on policy, saying this one day and something else the next. And the CRPF means a hard life... how can the government not know about an ambush planned by more than a thousand Naxals? How?" Sumer asked.
The only person not to know of Vinod's death is his wife
Lucknow: The only person in Manikapur village in Sultanpur who does not know about the death of CRPF jawan Vinod Kumar in the Dantewada Maoist attack is his wife Savitri Devi. Four months pregnant, she had a miscarriage early this morning after staying up the whole night to hear about him.
"I don't how to tell her. She has had a miscarriage and undergone surgery," said Vinod's younger brother Ajay Kumar who had to rush Savitri to a hospital 15 km from their village on his motorcycle because no four-wheeler was available at that hour.
A policeman brought the news about 30-year-old Vinod's death to the house a little later.
The family heard on the radio in the evening about the Dantewada attack on CRPF personnel. Vinod was posted in Dantewada, and they spent all of the night hoping and praying.
"We tried to contact Vinod on his cellphone several times, but it was switched off," said Vinod's father Dev Narayan. "I tried my best to contact officials in Lucknow but had no luck. Someone told me that the jawans of his company were attacked. But there was no word about Vinod."
After spending an anxious night, Savitri suffered a miscarriage. Then the policeman came with the news.
"I have told Ajay not to tell Savitri. Let her be alright and return home," said Dev Narayan. Vinod and Savitri, who got married in 1991, have two children, Rasha (5) and Abhishek (3). Vinod had last called the family on the Monday evening, saying his unit was going out on an operation that could last three days. He also said he would not be carrying his cellphone, but would call them after returning from the operation, said Dev Narayan.
A graduate, Vinod joined the CRPF in 2006. His elder brother Suresh Kumar works in a private firm, while Ajay is doing his graduation.
The village was all praise for Dev Narayan who ensured all his sons got a good education. "Vinod was a symbol of the aspirations for our young men," said gram pradhan Kalawati.
Sanctioned leave, Vinod was to come home in May. The family would have seen him for the first time in six months. But that was never to be.
Narendra Singh had big plans, but now he will never be backMahmadnpur, Ghaziabad: Narendra Singh was supposed to come home on April 20. When the 28-year-old CRPF Constable spoke to his younger brother Zile Singh three days ago, he had told him about his plans to make their brick house better. He wanted to put up a big entrance gate, make some portions of the house pucca and also get the broken music system repaired.
On Tuesday, the family lost Narendra, and with him the hope of a future.
A day after, at his home in Mahmadpur village, Narendra's father Dhan Singh lay on a charpoy surrounded by his neighbours.
All he could say was that when he spoke to his son last, he had rebuked him for not taking care of his health.
Mother Barfi Devi is still to believe that her elder son is dead. "Call Narendra, I want to speak to him," she was telling visitors.
Narendra's wife Saroj was too shocked to talk. They have a one-year-old son, Kunal.
Zile Singh said Narendra wanted to study further. "My brother could not complete his MA final year from Rana Degree College as he was selected in CRPF in 2002. But he wanted to study more and had to appear for a B.Ed entrance test this month. I never knew it was t our last talk."
The villagers, too, remembered Narendra as someone who was keen on education. "The father is a labourer and the brother a high school passout. He was the only one who pursued education. Whenever he would see children playing in the village, he would advise them to take their studies seriously," said Mukesh, a villager.
Narendra always took care that his family did now about the serious nature of his work.
"He never used to discuss his posting with the family members. He only once said that he was tensed and feared he would not return home. We could never understand his life was in danger," said Zile Singh.
Khalil Khan saw death coming
Fazalgarh, Ghaziabad: Khalil Khan told his family members it was a battle for survival in Dantewada every single day. The family members of the 28-year-old CRPF Constable said he had a premonition that the Chhattisgarh posting would be his last.
Elder brother Rahisuddin recalled how Khalil escaped Naxalites last time when he came out for a visit home.
"He told us he along with his friends paid Rs 10,000 to an auto driver to take them to the city. They knew that Naxalites would kill them if their identities were revealed. The fear came true. Naxalites stopped their auto for 12 hours and released them only when the driver assured the rebels that they were locals," Rahisuddin said.
The family last spoke to him 15 days ago. "I could feel the fear in his voice. He told me that surviving in the area was becoming impossible. He said he was counting days and was not sure when he could fall prey to the Naxalites. He also told us there were no facilities for them for self defence," informed Salim, a relative who broke the news of his death to the family.
Since early Wednesday, Khalil's kuccha house in Fazalgarh village, Ghaziabad, saw a line of villagers paying condolences.
His father Fakhruddin, a carpenter, recalled how his son made him proud when he joined the CRPF in 2002 from Rampur. "He said he will not do any other job. He was adamant on joining the security forces. He was our only hope," Fakhruddin said. He slammed the government for not doing enough for the security forces. "They (CRPF personnel) do not even have basic facilities," said the father.
Khalil is survived by his wife and two children.
Source: The Indian Express
