Two leave behind 7-month babies, one was father of 3

BIHAR

Constable MANOJ KUMAR Muzaffarnagar Head Constable K P SINGH Aliganj, Etah

Lucknow: The UP government has announced Rs 30 lakh each to the families of two CRPF men killed in Sukma. Constable Manoj Kumar of Muzaffarnagar joined CRPF months after his father had been shot dead near his house over an argument. “We lost two members in five years. We are proud of Manoj,” said elder brother Ramesh. Manoj wasn’t married.

Head constable Kishan Pal Singh, 45, meanwhile, is survived by his wife Saroj Devi, seven siblings and father. Constable N P SONKAR Gangatir Kalam, Kothari, Rewa MANISH SAHU Constable BANMALI RAM Dhaura Sand, Kunkuri, Jashpur

Bhopal: Constable Banmali Ram of Chhattisgarh, killed in Sukma, would have turned 30 in a week. He joined the CRPF in 2007 and got married in 2014. The couple have a one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Khushboo. Constable N P Sonkar of Rewa, MP, meanwhile, was married to Sunita and they have a son, Deepak, and a daughter, Sudha. He joined the CRPF in 2000.

MILIND GHATWAI OF THE 25 CRPF jawans killed in the Naxal ambush in Sukma, Chhattisgarh, six were from Bihar, all constables. Two of them had children aged seven months, another was a father of three schoolchildren, while a fourth had been married only a year.

Krishna Kumar of Chenari, Rohtas, had joined the CRPF’S 74th battalion in 2010. Youngest of six brothers, Krishna had married Anita in 2013 and they have a sevenmonth-old daughter. His family had been waiting for him to arrive for his niece’s wedding, scheduled May 5, for which he had borne much of the expenses.

“Condemning such an incident is not enough. We have as much a sense of pride as a sense of outrage,” said Krishna’s elder brother Mohan Pandey. Another brother, Amarjit, said: “Krishna had fought Maoists successfully in 2013. He was posted in Jammu and Kashmir earlier.”

In Danapur, the father of constable Saurabh Kumar too said he was proud as well as sad. “Yes, I am sad because he was my eldest son. He has a seven-month-old baby. This was decided by the almighty,” he told PTI. “The government’s stand is not clear on this issue.” PTI quoted him as suggesting two possible options: “A lot can be won with love. Violence must be the last option.”

Constable Abhay Kumar of Loma village, Vaishali, had come home in March and celebrated his first wedding anniversary with Tanya. He had joined the CRPF in 2010. Said his mother Rama Devi, a nurse: “Abhay was inspired to join the armed forces after two of his cousins did so — Ajay in CRPF and Pawan in ITBP.” Ajay said: “Though Abhay giving up his life for the country is a moment of pride, I want to know when such attacks on our forces will stop.”

Constable Naresh Yadav of Ahia, Darbhanga, was last home in December. He had spent most of his vacations building a pucca house. His wife Rita Devi said: “We spoke three days ago and discussed our children’s education. I do feel a sense of pride with the supreme sacrifice of my husband but it is high time our government took strong action against Maoists.”

Rita and Naresh, who joined the CRPF in 1994, have three children, sons in classes X and V and a daughter in IX. Naresh’s father Ramnarayan Yadav said: “I have lost the sole bread-earner of my family .... It is time to start a decisive battle against Naxals.”

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced Rs 5 lakh each to the six families and said: “The nation will always remember their sacrifice... The people of Bihar are with the bereaved families.”

RAJASTHAN HIMACHAL PRADESH

With PTI