On day of shraddh, families of slain CRPF jawans get ‘justice’

HOWRAH/TEHATTA: When the news of Indian Air Force’s pre-dawn strike against a Jaish-e-Muhammed terror camp in Pakistan filtered in on Tuesday, it brought a sense of closure and justice for the families of the two slain CRPF jawans, who were among the 40 men killed in the Pulwama attack exactly 13 days ago.

The grieving families of Nadia’s Sudip Biswas and Howrah’s Bablu Santra welcomed the news of the air strike, which they felt avenged the deaths of their sons. But Santra’s widow, Mita, also struck a sombre note: she hoped this would not escalate into a war as that “only leads to more deaths, widows and fatherless children”.

For the Biswas family of Nadia’s Tehatta, the strike was timed to perfection as India’s befitting reply to the Pulwama attack came hours before their son Sudip’s shraddh ceremony. The symbolism of the attack coming on the day of the shraddh rituals did not go unnoticed.


‘War will only make more widows like me’

Sudip’s mother Mamata said: “Today is the day of shraddha of my son. We had plunged into grief and gloom had descended all around us. The news of the air strike today brought a sense of peace for us and closure to Sudip’s death. The men who instigated youths in Kashmir to carry out such acts have been punished. While I have lost my son, the pre-emptive action taken by Indian Air Force this morning will save many lives in future.” Sudip’s father Sanyasi said, “India should press on and finish off all the terror camps across the border.”

At Howrah’s Bauria, the Santra family expressed similar emotions, but also a word of caution. Mita — who lost her husband Babloo in the attack on Valentine’s Day — was glad her husband’s death had been avenged. “I am happy the government has acted against the terrorists. It’s the right thing to do. The terrorists killed my husband,” she said hoping it would not trigger a war.

“I don’t think a war will solve anything. It will only lead to more deaths and more women like me will be widowed; more mothers will lose their sons and children their fathers. The two nations need to co-exist peacefully,” Mita said, adding a sombre note even as she urged the government to ensure the safety and security of the jawans posted in Kashmir.

Though the strikes offered her a sense of justice, she wondered why such strikes had not been launched earlier when the intelligence agencies knew about the location of terror camps for years and hoped that India would henceforth continue to act against such terror groups.

The Santra family had held Babloo’s shradh four days after his death. On Tuesday, Babloo’s brother Kalyan performed rituals known as paraloukik kriya to mark the 12th day after his death. Minister Suvendu Adhikari visited the family and handed a cheque for Rs 12 lakh.