Days away from home, they had plans for rakhi, wedding, overdue holiday

READ | Militants had a lot of ammo, looked set for a long battle, says CRPF DG

Jagtar Singh’s family, which lives in Ropar, Punjab, says when he joined the force in 1994, he was following in the footsteps of several elders. While his two uncles retired from the Army, his brother is a serving officer. Another brother, Pavittar Singh, works for the Punjab intelligence department. Jagtar, who was married with children, had been serving in Jammu and Kashmir for seven years.

“He visited his family last week and was to return on June 28. His leave had been sanctioned,” Pavittar told The Indian Express. Kailash Yadav’s younger brother Girijesh broke down, fearing their ailing mother wouldn’t survive the shock of his death. “She will die. Our father passed away in 2003 of a heart attack. Since then, bhaiya had been like our father. He steered the whole family,” a sobbing Girijesh said.

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Far away from their home in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, Kailash would constantly worry about his mother’s diabetes. The last time the brothers spoke was a day before the attack. Girijesh said Kailash told him to send their mother’s photograph by WhatsApp, and was distraught when he saw it. “He said, ‘She has grown so weak. Don’t worry, I am coming back on July 5. I will personally nurse her back to health’.”

Kailash, a father of two, had joined the CRPF in 2000 and since then, had been posted away from home, in Kashmir, Tripura and Chhattisgarh.

Girijesh added that the hopes of the family rested on him. “He was the only one among us with a government job. All others are engaged in farming. He had said that this time when he came back, he would set up a shop for me. He was a believer, always said that if he had not harmed anyone, nothing bad would ever happen to him. Now look what has happened.”

Sub-inspector Sanjay Kumar is survived by his wife and two school-going children. The family, based in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, hasn’t had the courage yet to break the news to his wife. “She has just recovered from an operation,” said Sanjay’s brother Rajeev.

Their sister has not stopped crying since she heard the news, he added. “We are three brothers and a sister. He adored her. He had promised to come home during Rakshabandhan.”

Rajeev said Sanjay joined the CRPF in 1998, the same year as their father retired from the force. He had been posted in Chhattisgarh earlier and had moved to the Valley only a month and a half earlier. “Today our father is both proud and sad,” Rajeev said.

Satish Chand is survived by his wife and two daughters, who are still in school. Belonging to Meerut, Satish had joined the CRPF in 2002 and had been in Kashmir for two years.

He was expected home on July 1, in time for the wedding of his brother-in-law on July 11. “It was he who had fixed it. He was eager to come and everyone was waiting,” said another brother-in-law Umesh Kumar.

Head Constable Vir Singh, of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh, felt stretched between work and the pressure to get his eldest daughter married. He has two other children.

“The last conversation I had with him was a few days ago, when he talked about how helpless he felt that he couldn’t look for a groom for her. He often said that since he was away, I should look for a suitable boy for her,” said Ravi Kumar, Vir’s brother-in-law.

It wasn’t always easy to talk to Vir though, Kumar added. “He would say don’t call as it disturbs my alertness during my job, just send a WhatsApp message and I will call back.”

Vir, who had joined the CRPF in 1992, had been in the Valley for two years. In Constable Santosh Saw’s death, his family lost its only earning hand. Saw is survived by his wife, three children between the ages of four and nine, and his mother.

A resident of Tengra village in Aurangabad, Bihar, Santosh was the only son of Lt Awadh Saw, who died in 1999, and Devanti Kuwar. Said Devanti, “I have only 10 kathas of land and depended entirely on my son’s earnings. Our world has been turned upside down.” Saw had joined the CRPF in 2009.

Sub-inspector G Jayachandran had been with the CRPF for 32 years. A native of Nanthiyodu in Thiruvananthapuram district, he had served in many north Indian states. His brother-in-law Gopan said Jayachandran had been in Kerala only last month for a short leave. “He returned to J&K on June 2.”

Jayachandran is survived by his wife and two daughters, both in school. He had talked to his wife Sindhu on Saturday morning. Gopan said Jayachandran never missed that ritual. “Every morning, he would call up Sindhu, and they would talk about family matters.’’