The cellphone rings furiously. Vicky Kumar Gurung looks at the phone and turns away before answering. Its Sarita,his wife,he says later. Ever since Gurung,a constable of the Bihar Military Police (BMP),was posted in Lakhisarai,the district where seven BMP personnel were killed in an encounter with Naxals on August 29,Sarita calls him from Patna about 10 times a day. I have to tell Sarita about my routine. She is worried about my Lakhisarai posting. My brothers also call me, says Gurung,28. Gurungs BMP-1 company was called in a day after the encounter to replace the BMP-10 company that lost seven of its men in the encounter and later lost Lucas Tete,the BMP havildar who was among the three policemen who were taken hostage. Ever since Gurungs company came here,there have been no operations but he knows he can be called any time. The 90-member BMP company,headed by Inspector Nirmal Kumar Pradhan,is camping at R Lal College in Lakhisarai,a part of which has been taken over by the BMP company. The company has five sub-inspectors and 20 havildars and 75 constables and its members are Gurkhas. The classrooms have turned into messy dormitoriesutensils,table fans,suitcases,steel trunks,clothes strewn all over,uniforms on hangers and bed and cots on which jawans loll about. The only sense of order in the room is in the way the weaponsAK-47s,SLRs and INSAS riflesare lined up against the wall,in one corner of the room. Gurung and the jawans start their day at 4 a.m. After a session of yoga,exercises and running around the college field for two km,Gurung is ready by 6 a.m. These days,the company is at the camp all day,waiting nervously for any call for operation. There is also the assembly election thats coming up next month and then,the company commandant could drop in any day fom Patna. Its 10 a.m. and Gurung is still in his sleeveless tee and shorts. When asked about his background,Gurung smiles shyly and looks at his boss. Come on,tell him, says Inspector Pradhan and Gurung opens up. I am from Ghatshila,Jamshedpur. I lost my parents when I was in my teens. It was my elder brother who brought me up, he says. Gurung,the youngest of three brothers,says he was inspired by his father D B Gurung,a havildar in the Indian Army,to join the forces. After his higher secondary,Vicky joined the BMP in April 2002 and was first posted at Jamui,where he served for two years. He says he has only served in Naxal areasRohtas,Gaya,Nawada,Aurangabad,Jehanabad and now,Lakhisarai. He recalls his last posting,in Jehanabad. Our job is always to assist the state police. Since we are rarely deployed in one place for more than three months,we have to depend on the state police who are more familiar with the terrain, says Gurung as he begins to flip through the duty chart on Inspector Pradhans table. Today,he is part of the team thats guarding the weapons at the camp. Around 11 a.m.,Vicky changes into his uniform,fussing over his cap till he gets the perfect tilt,and then takes us around the camp. Two constables stand guard at the gate. A strong gust of wind blows the tarpaulin cover off the make-shift kitchen and a jawan rushes to fix it. There is rice,daal,roti and green vegetables on the days menu. Gurung says a jawan starts with a salary of Rs 10,000. After eight years of service,he gets around Rs 15,000. There is also talk that we will get an additional Rs 4,000 as uniform allowance,but we havent got it yet, he says. Over 7,000 BMP men are involved in anti-Naxal operations in the state. Gurung has been in the job for eight years now and it will take him at least two more years to become a havildar. His seniors have told him that he can at best retire as an inspector. His boss Pradhan is an inspector after 33 years of service. Gurung admits that these days,Lucas Tetes name comes up in most discussions in the camp. He realises it is an uncertain life. Who knows,tomorrow I might find myself in Kodasi Hills (a Naxal hotbed), he says.
