Broken Promises & Memories Galore – Life After the Sukma Attack

The Quint visited the families of Sukma martyrs’, a year after they lost their loved ones in the Naxal ambush.

(Photo: The Quint)

When the CRPF’s 219 battalion set out on 11 March 2017, for a road-securing patrol in Sukma’s Kotacheru village, little did they know this would have a devastating effect on their lives. Twelve personnel from the battalion lost their lives on that fateful day, while several others were injured in a Naxal ambush. The Naxals had rigged their patrol route with explosive devices, catching the battalion unawares, which was then followed by an ambush involving heavy gunfire.

A year later, the families of the deceased martyrs continue to grieve. Assistant Sub-Inspector Narendra Kumar Singh was one of the bravehearts who lost his life in the attack. His son Tuntun Singh recalls how he refused to seek a transfer, despite the dangers in Sukma.

“My mother used to tell him to move away, but in turn, he would say he’d do whatever duty was assigned to him,” he said.

Singh was scheduled to come home for Holi that year, when the attack took his life. Today, his 18-year-old daughter Kajal Kumari demands that her father’s death be avenged by the government.

The government should take revenge against the Naxals who killed my father. He has been martyred.

Singh’s comrade ASI Heera Bhatt too, lost his life in the attack. His mother remembers him as her favourite son who was “extremely well-mannered, and would always listen to others.”

“We have nobody left to help us. I am old, and my daughter-in-law is weak. We will take any help we can get,” she said.

Head constable JP Bishnoi’s widow – Rachna Bishnoi’s eyes swell up with tears the minute she talks of her martyred husband. Draping her pallu over her head, she recounts her last phone conversation with him.

When he spoke to me for the last time, he asked me to keep our children happy. I asked him why he was saying these things, but he shrugged it off. Now I understand why he said that.

A year on, Rachna demands that her husband’s martyrdom be give the honour it deserves.

There is no doubt that my husband was a brave man. And like any other martyr’s family, honour is important to us. I request the government that they honour my husband’s bravery with an award.

Inspector Jagjit Singh’s family say that they still haven’t received what the government had promised them after the attack. Singh’s brother Daljeet is however, thankful to actor Akshay Kumar, who donated Rs 9 lakh each to the martyrs’ families.

Sometimes external help reaches grieving families faster than the government’s assistance.

And while these families may have lost one of their own, they want the government to pay heed to many other jawans on the borders, fighting to protect the country.

Video Editor: Mohd. Ibrahim
Producer: Malavika Balasubramanian