[Reader-list] The Naxalites overreached

[Pawan Durani]

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 back

Mahmadnpur, 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