Daddy’s voice comes back home, he doesn’t

JAMMU, AUG 3: Beta, when I destroy the bad men troubling us, I will come back to you with loads of toys'. These were the words of Major ...

JAMMU, AUG 3: Beta, when I destroy the bad men troubling us, I will come back to you with loads of toys’. These were the words of Major Sushil Aima, which he recorded for her daughter, Ridhi on an audio tape a day before he was killed in an encounter with three hardcore Pakistani militants in a hand-to-hand combat in Mandi town of Poonch district.

Ridhi, Major Aima’s four-year old daughter was deeply attached to her father and on his being posted to the Rashtriya Rifles unit here, she became withdrawn. The only thing which made her jump in excitement and bring a smile on her face was the voice of her father, which Major Aima used to record from his camp location and send to her regularly. Even his year-old son, Sidhi, would look forward to hearing his papa’s voice.

Col L M Chamola, Commanding Officer, 17 RR, remembers Maj Aima as one of the most soft spoken, affectionate and daring officer who always seized an opportunity to engage militants. “He was the son of soil and possessed a burning desirein his heart to get rid of every single intruder from his motherland”. He personified the Army dictum of Eye for the militants and heart for the innocents’, the Commanding Officer said.

Maj Aima was a Kashmiri settled in Palam Vihar, Gurgaon (Haryana). Captain Manish, Adjt 17 RR fondly remembers him as a computer buff who could spend hours together in front of his TV monitor toying latest software. Subedar Bhoroade, his company’s senior JCO was in tears. “We used to call Saheb giant killer who could scare a militant to death by his mere presence,” he said. Six feet 5 inches tall, Major Aima was a towering personality. According to Army spokesman, Major S Sabharwal, it took five militants to pin him down after a 15 minute hand-to-hand close quarter combat in which he managed to kill three militants. In this operation, Major Aima and his commandos killed a total of five hardcore Pak militants and recovered four AK rifles, five bag fulls of IED and explosives with large quantity of ammunition. The body ofMaj Aima was flown to the capital today afternoon by Indian Airlines flight and was received in Delhi by his bereaved family members and senior officers of the Indian Army. Rich tributes were paid to the brave officer.