Bijapur Naxal Attack: Martyrs Receive Emotional Farewell

The Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur on April 3 took lives of 22 CRPF soldiers and left 31 injured.

People gather to pay their last respects to Martyr Rajkumar Yadav in Ayodhya.

The Quint

Video Producer: Maushmee Singh, Naman Shah

Video Editor : Sandeep Suman

The Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur on April 3 took the lives of 22 CRPF soldiers and left 31 injured. One jawan, Rakeshwar Singh Manhas, who was held hostage by the Maoists, was finally released on 8 April.

As the bodies of the martyrs reached their respective homes, they were met with tears and the neighbourhoods reverberated with the chants of 'amar rahe'.

Sub-inspector Deepak Bhardwaj of Chhattisgarh's Janjgir died while saving his team from an IED blast.

A senior police officer came to me and said, “Deepak took the responsibility of being our team’s captain in the Naxal encounter. When the encounter started, he kept us behind and led the charge from the front. For half an hour, he led a strong charge against the Naxals and defeated them. However, soon after, there was an explosion, in which he was grievously injured.”

Radhelal Bhardwaj, Deepak’s father

Deepak got married on 29 November 2019.
Cobra Commando Rajkumar Yadav's mother fell sick after learning of his death. Yadav's family in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh was dependent on him.

We are three brothers and two sisters in our family. The younger brother and the other sister are yet to be married. Our mother is unwell. For the last four months, she has been getting treatment in Lucknow. Now who will pay for that?

Ramvilas, Rajkumar’s brother

A sudden shock has silenced the home of CoBRA Commando Dharmdev Kumar in UP's Chandauli. Kumar was father to two daughters and his wife is pregnant with their third child.

We want the Chief Minister to come here and pay homage to the body and speak with our family. There has been no response from the CM till now. Rajnath Singh ji had spoken with our father. He said that he won’t be able to come now, but he will request the CM to visit us. But we haven’t received any response from him yet. He must come here. That’s what happened after Pulwama attack. So many soldiers had died then. People talked about it for 2-4 days and forgot about it.

Dhananjay, Dharmdev’s brother

Murali Krishna, the martyr from Andhra Pradesh's Sakhamuri was due to get married on 22 May. The joy of his the wedding has vanished and a silence echoes through his home now.

Martyr Ramesh Kumar Jurri from Chhattisgarh's Kanker received a funeral with full state honour. Commander Routhu Jagadeesh also received a tearful farewell in Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh.