Jitendra Kumar is a 28-year-old CRPF jawan. He can barely move his eyes, a food pipe is attached to his stomach and he has been in a coma for 30 months.
Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam
Constable Jitendra was injured in a land mine blast in Bastar in Chhattisgarh. Five jawans, travelling with him in the van died in the blast that day in 2014. He was initially admitted to a hospital in Raipur. However, earlier this year, he was admitted to Prakash Hospital in Noida.
Also Read: ‘I Didn’t Want Him in CRPF’: Plight of Mother Whose Son Is in Coma
Rupa Devi, Jitendra’s mother, is inconsolable.
Look this way, my child. Look here, it’s me, your mother!
Jitendra, who can probably hear her, moves his eyes in response.
Unhappy with the medical facilities provided by the CRPF, she says she wanted her son to be treated at AIIMS, but that didn’t happen.
But Jitendra Kumar is not an exception.
There are over three lakh CRPF jawans out of eight lakh paramilitary force personnel in the country. Due to a lack of their own medical facilities, the CRPF depends on government hospitals and a few private hospitals for the treatment of its jawans.
The Quint’s Bitgiving Campaign to Help Jitendra
Currently, Jitendra is getting his full salary of Rs 26,000 per month. His medical expenses are also covered by the government. But once he is discharged from the hospital, the CRPF doctors will examine his fitness. There is a high possibility that he will then be declared unfit to join duty. If so, his troubles will only be compounded in the future.
Jitendra has two siblings, a brother and a sister, who live in a village in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. His father is a farm labourer and for Rupa Devi, the marriage of her daughter is now a major worry.
The road ahead for Kumar and his family would be significantly tougher. It’s time to give back to our CRPF personnel, who stand guard for us without a thought to their own safety.
Join The Quint, in partnership with BitGiving, to show Jitendra Kumar and his family that they are not alone. Click here to donate and #StandForCRPFJitendra.
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