Blast Site Haunts CRPF Jawans As They Tearfully Remember Their Martyred Colleagues

As five army personnel have been martyred in a new encounter today morning in Pulwama, the first since the terror attack took place on Thursday, Indian paramilitary troopers are still manning the borders with valour and bravery.

The encounter which started during wee hours of Monday resulted in a search operation at Pingilana village in Pulwama after security forces received a tip-off regarding the presence of militants.

Thursday¡¯s suicide bombing claimed lives of at least 44 of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldiers and at least 20 others were gravely injured. The country came together in solidarity to show their support for the paramilitary forces as requests were made to refrain from giving the issue a communal colour.

Photo: Reuters

The attack was so strong that it has created a seven-metre-deep-crack in the road embankment as well as a crater on the highway. Times of India spoke to one of the soldiers who stood at the same spot as he continued to perform his duty with utmost diligence. Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Desraj broke down in sobs telling the media house, ¡°On Thursday, my colleague, who was my barrack partner, stood right here where I am today. He was blown up.¡±

Desraj recalled his vivid memories with Madan Sharma where they not only shared duties on the Pulwama track but also joked about their different lifestyles. He said that Sharma was escorting the convoy in Pulwama as he stood on the edge of the highway, around 25 km from Srinagar.

Desraj even said how they would call him ¡®Panditji¡¯ affectionately because he would practice vegetarianism and would at no cost change his lifestyle. He also recalled how he and his friend bonded over favourite TV shows and literature over the last 10 months.

Photo: Reuters/ The accident site where a suicide bomber blew up a CRPF convoy

Madan Sharma hailed from Dehradun and just one day before the terror attack, Desraj was deployed for another duty 50 metres away from a bulletproof vehicle. Sharma replaced Desraj as an escort on the highway.

¡°On that particular day, I was on the next post and he was on guard here and escorting the vehicles. Every day I see his bed empty; it is just mind-numbing," he told TOI.

However, Desraj had nothing to complain about like an Indian Army soldier. He pulled himself together and said, ¡®This is who we are, we have got to defend the nation, we have got to do our duty.¡±

Friends and families of the martyrs have demanded that they want the deaths of their loved ones avenged. Thursday¡¯s attack of suicide bombing has come after decades. These type of attacks are used by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group and were prominent during the early 2000s.