When Major Saroja Kumari won the gold at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne for 25-metre pistol shooting event, there was little celebration at her home in Meerut’s Cantonment. The Armed Forces Medical Services has now placed her house under protection—from her husband, who is against her shooting, and from intruding mediapersons.Since last night, guards have been posted at their official quarters where Saroja, a military nurse, lives with her two children, Dushyant and Vikramaditya.Brigadier G S Manchanda, in charge of the Military Hospital where Saroja works, said the guards have been told to keep ‘‘unwanted people out.’’ Last week, in a fit of anger, Saroja’s husband allegedly tore up a picture of Saroja with her medals and threw it out on the road. Saroja was already in Melbourne. Manchanda said that after hearing about the incident, the DG Armed Forces Medical Services, V K Singh, ‘‘assured the family protection and told her that the whole Medical Corps is behind her.’’Her husband Lt Colonel Sushil Kumar is with the 8 Dogra Unit in Lucknow. Brigadier Manchanda said: ‘‘Saroja’s husband has been against her shooting for many years now, and wanted her to stop.’’Kumar was against her going to Melbourne, and Manchanda said he told their children this when he visited them recently. ‘‘When the news of her winning the gold came in, he called the house, and expressed his anger to their children. But the children refused to talk to him, and told him that they were very proud of their mother,’’ said Manchanda. The local media which went looking for the medal winner’s story got a different spin—and the TV channels followed.‘‘I am sure that his (Kumar’s) superiors have spoken to him about the matter,’’ said Manchanda. He said that the Army ‘‘has ensured it at the highest level that nothing happens.’’ Kumar was not available for comment.Saroja told PTI Bhasha from Melbourne today that she was ‘‘disturbed after watching all this on a TV channel.’’ Saroja, however, said the situation was not so alarming as to get media attention but added her husband never approved her active participation in sports. ‘‘I will not sever ties with the sport just for the sake of my husband. But I think I would be able to convince him,’’ she told the news agency.Manchanda admitted that it’s a delicate situation. ‘‘If the husband turns up, we cannot stop him from entering, as it is his family after all,’’ he said. Yet, guards have been told to be on the alert.Her mother Kamla Devi began crying when asked about her daughter. ‘‘I do not want to talk about it, please go away from here,’’ she said. Saroja’s elder son, Dushyant said, ‘‘My mother called from Melbourne, and told me not to talk to anyone here.’’The guard posted outside the house said that TV crews kept her and the children awake up to the wee hours of the morning. ‘‘She has fallen ill because of this,’’ he said. So Kamla Devi has told the guards not to let any media team into the house.Posted to different battalions, Kumar mostly lives away from his family. Saroja spends most of her time training and has won over 60 medals in different events.Manchanda said that the family will have to sort out matters when Saroja returns from Melbourne on April 5, but that ‘‘it is a private matter.’’
