Remembering Warriors: Pulwama martyrs' families vow to never forget their sons

Bablu Santra, 39, West Bengal

The badminton court in front of the newly constructed house of 39-year-old Bablu Santra had been given a fresh coat of paint. The two storey building was to be painted when he returned on March 3. Just as life was beginning to appear smooth after a lot of struggle, the world came crashing down on them.

Bablu was one of the two martyrs from West Bengal who had been victim of Thursday's Pulwama blast. An official from CRPF control had called up his wife Mita Santra and told her about the loss.

"It was his grit and determination that he managed to achieve success in life. He was focussed in joining the forces so he kept himself fit with regular working out and volley ball playing sessions," said Bablu's brother Kalyan Santra who rued that the authorities should have taken more precautions if there was intelligence reports about a possible terror attack.

"In another eight months he was supposed to retire from CRPF and would have joined as a constable in West Bengal Police. He was a self-made man who spent most of the time with his family whenever he visited his native place. He had been here for about a month from mid-December last year and was scheduled to return in March 3," said a neighbour and friend Soumen Telai.

Bablu's mother, Bonomala Santra said whenever she got a call from him, he would be enquiring little details about the family. "Even yesterday when he called he asked if I had food on time, whether his daughter's school bus was on time and how was Kalyan and his family doing," she said.

Ratan Thakur, 30, Bihar

The residents of Bhagalpur mourned the loss of constable Ratan Thakur, who was the sole bread earner of his family.

"I had done several odd jobs as labourer, hawker, juice-seller to teach him and bring him up as a responsible citizen. Our woes ended when he joined the CRPF in 2011 and I had hoped that he will support us in our old age. But destiny had other plans for him," said Niranjan Thakur, Ratan's father.

He said, "Ratan has a four-year-old son Krishna and his wife Raj Nandini is expecting. He had last come home in July and wanted to celebrate this Holi with us. My son is a martyr and I will not stop in sending my second son in the service of the motherland, but I want the government to avenge my son's death. Pakistan must get a reply."

While Ratan was a native of Kahalgaon, his family had shifted to Bhagalpur for the education of his younger brother and sister. "He wanted to get his younger sister married to a government sector employee but now all plans will remain unfulfilled," he said.

Nitin Rathod, 35, Maharashtra

It had been only five days that 35-year-old Nitin Rathod left his family to join his battalion of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in Jammu and Kashmir. Just when his family members were thinking that he will not be coming back home soon, a news came from Kashmir that he will never come back to them.

Rathod, a native of Chorpangra village in Buldhana district of Maharashtra, is survived by his wife, nine-year-old son Piyush and seven-year-old daughter Prachi.

Till last week, the Rathod house was filled with happiness as Nitin had come home on a month-long leave. "He had a very good time here, mostly spending time with his children. We met him the last on February 10 when he left to go to Jammu and Kashmir," said Ashok Chavan, his brother-in-law.

Before going to Jammu and Kashmir, Rathod was also posted in Assam. "He was brave person but he was simple in nature. He was the backbone of the family which the family has now lost forever," Chavan said.

Sanjay Kumar Sinha, 44, Bihar

CRPF Head Constable Sanjay Kumar Sinha, 44, a resident of Taregana Math in Mausaurhi, was expected to come home later this month to finalise the wedding of his elder daughter Ruby. "He had talked to his father Mahendra Singh and wife Babita on Wednesday stating he had already applied for leave. He was really excited about looking for a groom for his daughter. Sanjay returned to duty after a month's leave on February 8 and the news of his demise has left the family shattered," said Jitendra, one of Sanjay's relative.

Neighbours recalled him as an amicable person who was always ready to help everyone. "The entire village is in shock and most people went without dinner on Thursday after hearing the sad news," he said.

Sanjay has left behind his wife, two daughters and a son, who is studying at Kota in Rajasthan. His parents also lived with him. Sanjay's brother Shankar Singh is also in the CRPF and is posted in Nalanda district in Bihar.

Union minister Ashwini Choubey visited the grieving family on Friday and said all possible help will be extended to them. He reassured the family that Sanjay's death will not go in vain when the locals demanded war against terrorism before the election.

Rohitash Lamba, 28, Rajasthan

Since Thursday evening, when information about martyrdom of Rohitash Lamba reached his village – Govindpura Bansri – near Shahpura, the locals are in a state of shock. The entire village did not light their stoves to cook food, a customary mark in Rajasthan that is observed when a person in the family dies. Hundreds of villagers and locals from nearby areas thronged the Lamba’s village and braved the cold night, to express their solidarity with Rohitash’s family.

As the news of Rohitash’s martyrdom reached family members, the martyr’s brother Jitendra Lamba’s health worsened and he had to be rushed to nearby hospital. Born in 1991, Rohitash was selected in the CRPF in 2011. The man had recently come home on a one-month leave and returned in the first week of January to join his duty. “Only two months have passed since Rohitash became a father to a boy and now the jawan’s dead body is coming back to his native village,” a local resident said.

Rohitash’s father – Babulal Lamba – has tears rolling down since he heard of his son’s death. “My son has attained martydom in a terrorist attack. I want him to be avenged, only then will I be at peace. They have killed fifty of our men. We will be at peace when we kill five hundred of theirs,” Babulal said in anger and grief, adding further, “My grandson is two months old and Rohitash was the breadwinner of our house. The government should provide us with some help.”

Naseer Ahmed, 47, Jammu and Kashmir

Cries and sobs rent the air when the family received the news about the death of Naseer Ahmed of Dodasan Bala village of Thanamandi in Rajouri district of Jammu division.

Born on February 13, 1973, Naseer attained martyrdom a day after his 46th birthday. Hailing from remote Dodasan Bala village, he had joined the CRPF in June 1997. Coming from a family of belt forces, his brother is also in a police department.

An orphan, he was raised by his elder brother Salah-ud-din before he joined the CRPF as constable. Dedicated towards his job, he rose to the rank of the head constable in the CRPF. "My father had died when he was born. I raised him like my child. I was in Jammu and I reached home during night," said Salah-ud-din as cries rent the air.

Ahmed is survived by his wife and minor son and a daughter.

Locals remember Naseer as affable who always helped people in the locality. "He had no enmity with anyone," said his uncle.

G Subramanian, 28, Tamil Nadu

Sevalaperi, a nondescript village near Kovilopatti in South Tamil Nadu's Tuticorin district mourned the death of the 28-year-old CRPF jawan G Subramanian who is one among the 40 personnel killed in Pulwama terrorist attack. Subramanian, who has came on a month-long leave for Pongal (harvest) festival, returned to Kashmir only on last Sunday.

Ganapathy, his father, said, "This was his first pongal after he got married. So he came for a month this time."

After completing ITI, he joined CRPF at the age of 23 and married Krishnaveni in 2017. "My husband spoke to me over phone around 2 pm on Thursday. He told me that he joined duty," sobbing Krishnaveni told reporters. As soon as the incident of suicide bomb attack spread in media, Ganapathy said they tried calling him, but the call did not reach.

Subramanian has one elder brother working abroad and two sisters. He aspired to become a policeman, but in the meantime, he got selected in the CRPF. After joining CRPF, he had earlier worked in Chennai and Uttar Pradesh. Following the death of Subramanian, students of TNTTA Primary School in his village Sevalaperi where he studied observed one-minute silent prayer for him.

Hemraj Meena, 43, Rajasthan

Martyr Hemraj Meena’s son, Ajay, wants to avenge his father. This could be expected of any child who hears about the way the CRPF jawans were killed in Pulwama. 

“My father sacrificed his life for the country. Two days back he told me that you have to become like me when you grow up and kill the terrorists. Now I will kill the enemies,” the twelve-year-old Ajay says.

As the news of his death reached his folds in Vinod Kanla village of Rajasthan’s Kota district through media channels, the people of his village plunged into deep grief and a desire of revenge against the brutality. 

Hemraj, who joined CRPF in 2001, had came to his village on February 10 and left to report to duty on Tuesday morning with a promise, “He would soon return for a five-day vacation,” recalled Ramvilas while adding, “And now he is to come to his home wrapped in a tricolour.”

Jeetram, 28, Rajasthan

It was a moment of shock for the villagers of Sundrawali village of Nagar area of Bharatpur when they learnt about the martyrdom of jawan Jeetram. The family members were in a deep state of shock as it was only two days back that Jeetram had left the home to join the force after spending holidays with the family. 

According to neighbours, Jeetram had promised to come home for a longer time so that he could spend time with relatives living nearby as well. 

The sounds of wails and cries have filled the atmosphere around Sundrawali village as here too dozens of people stayed out of their houses, camped near Jeetram’s house, the entire night trying to look after the family members. 

Arrangements were also being made by collectively villagers and local administration to receive the Jeetram’s mortal remains when it arrives on Saturday morning.

Sanjay Rajput, 49, Maharashtra

The house of 49-year-old Sanjay Rajput in Malkapur tehsil of Maharashtra's Buldhana district was in mourning as the news of Rajput's death broke out. Villagers gathered at his residence to console the family members.

Rajput, who is survived by wife and two sons, had gone to Jammu and Kashmir only on February 11. "I spoke to him at 9 am yesterday where he told me that he was on his way to go to the post, and at 4 pm we got the news of his convoy being attacked," Rajesh Rajput, Sanjay's elder brother said.

Rajput had a career spanning 23 years in the CRPF where he served in difficult areas of Northeast and Chhattisgarh. "He had spent six difficult years in Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh. He had participated in various anti-Naxal operations. He was posted in Nagpur for three years before he got the posting at Jammu and Kashmir only last week," Rajput said.

Mortal remains of both the martyrs are expected to reach Buldhana on Saturday.

Sudip Biswas, 27, West Bengal

It was a tough time for Samapta Biswas, brother-in-law of 27-year-old Sudip Biswas as he was tasked with the responsibility to break the news of Sudip's untimely death at the hands of terrorists to his family – his parents and married sister.

"I didn't know what to tell them. I had heard it last night and told my wife. She was hysterical. This morning I was trying to find a way how to tell it to his parents Sanyasi and Mamata Biswas when police arrived," said Samapta at Sudip's residence which is under Hanspukuria Panchayat of Tehatta in Nadia district.

Son of a farm worker, Sudip was the sole earning member of the family and had put the family back on tracks after he joined the security force and was soon to get married. He had been working for the last four years to build a house in the area to move in with his family.

"He had called me once at about 10 am and then at 3.10 pm when the phone got disconnected in the middle of a conversation. I didn't know what had happened and let go after trying to call back for a couple of times. This morning I came to know about the mishap," said his father.

His mother was losing consciousness off and on and was only wailing whenever she gained consciousness. All she knows is that her son was in 98 battalion and was en route to a raid for 54 batallion when the incident happened.

C Sivachandran, 33, Tamil Nadu

The family of C Sivachandran has been left numbed by the news of him being killed in the Pulwama terrorist attack.

Sivacharan, hailing from Karkudi in Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur district, is survived by his wife Gandhimathi and 2-year-old son Sivamuniyan, parents and a differently-abled sister. His family members said that Gandhimathi was four months pregnant. Sivachandran was the sole breadwinner of the family.

"We are now orphaned. I have a two-year-old son and I am four months pregnant. I don't know how we are going to live without him. We are all orphans now," said wailing Gandhimathi.

"We are not going to do anything with the financial assistance given to us. My son went to save the country has left the world abandoning his family," Chinnaiyan said.

This is the second tragic incident to happen in Sivachandran's family in as many years. Last year, Sivachandran's younger brother Selvachandran was electrocuted while working in Chennai. After his younger brother's death, Sivachandran has become the sole breadwinner of his family. His father Chinnaiyan was a daily wager.

Sivachandran who had come leave in the first week of January returned to duty on February 9 after spending time with his family.

Narayan Lal Gurjar, Rajasthan

Narayan Lal Gurjar, a native of Binol village of Rajsamand district, was posted with the 118 battalion of CRPF. The news of his martyrdom reached his wife – Mohani Devi – on Thursday evening and the woman broke into wails. The family members had to rush to handle her as she fainted while she informed what had transpired. 

The news then spread like wildfire in the village as villagers heard the family crying loudly and found on questioning that Narayan Lal had been martyred in a terrorist attack. No food was cooked in the village after the news was received while here too, the locals have thronged to the martyr’s home and even raised slogans praising the martyr while also raised slogans against the terrorists. People from all walks of life across Rajasthan on Friday held condolence meetings in parts of Kota, Bundi, Baran and Jhalawar districts and paid tribute.

Bhagirath Kasana, Rajasthan

The villagers of Jaitpura village have tears filling their eyes after hearing of the martyrdom of Bhagirath Kasana. Bhagirath had recently returned back after spending holidays with the family. He had come for holidays on January 17 after spending nearly twenty days posted with the 45th Battalion of the CRPF. 

The jawan was a father to two children — a girl and a boy. Bhagirath married four years back after he joined the CRPF in 2013. 

Upon hearing the news of his demise, relatives, friends, and neighbours thronged to his home in huge numbers to share condolences with the grieved family. 

Angered over the attack that killed their friend and neighbour, the villagers have demanded that Bhagirath’s death by avenged. 

District administration officials and local politicians have also met the family members of the martyr.

From L-R (Top): Constable Pradeep Kumar - 21 BN (UP), Constable Ashvni Kumar Kaochi – 35 BN (MP), Head Constable Awadhesh Kumar Yadav – 45 BN (UP)

From L-R (Bottom): Constable Virendra Singh – 45 BN (Uttarakhand), Constable Pankaj Kumar Tripathi – 53 BN (UP), Constable Ramesh Yadav – 61 BN (UP)

From L-R (Top): Constable Maninder Singh Attri – 75 BN (Punjab), Head Constable Jaimal Singh – 76 BN (Punjab), Constable Sukhjinder Singh – 76 BN (Punjab)

From L-R (Bottom):  Constable Tilak Raj – 76 BN (Himachal Pradesh), Head Constable Vijay Soreng – 82 BN (Jharkhand), Constable
Manoja Kr Behera – 82 BN (Odisha)

From L-R (Top): Constable Vasantha Kumar VV – 82 BN (Kerala), Constable Guru H -82 BN (Karnataka), Constable Amit Kumar – 92 BN (UP)

From L-R (Bottom): Constable Vijay Kumar Mourya – 92 BN (UP), Constable Kulwinder Singh -92 BN (Punjab), Head Constable Maneswar Basumatari – 98 BN (Assam)

From L-R (Top): Asst. Sub Insp. Mohan Lal – 110 BN (Uttarakhand), Constable Ajit Kumar Azad – 115 BN (UP), Constable Pradeep Singh – 115 BN  (UP)

From L-R (Bottom): Constable Shyam Babu – 115 BN (UP), Constable Koushal Kumar Rawat – 115 BN (UP), Head Constable Ram Vakeel – 176 BN (UP)

From L-R: Head Constable PK Sahoo – 61 BN (Odisha), Constable Mahesh Kumar – 118 BN (UP)