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Relatives of BSF martyrs shocked
by insensitivity of authorities

Three jawans from the region around Chandigarh were among those killed but their relatives came to know about it for the first time only through newspapers or mediapersons.

Shocked over the hurried cremation of the mutilated bodies of the martyrs at the 118 Battalion Headquarters in Tura (Meghalaya), family members of the deceased said they had not received any official communication about the death of their kin so far and not a single official had visited them.

Sukhjinder Singh (27) and Gurbaksh Singh (33) from Gurdaspur district in Punjab, and Anand Singh Dahiya (30) of Rohtak in Haryana were among the 16 jawans who died defending the country's frontier at Pyrdiwah, along the Indo-Bangladesh border, in Meghalaya in the third week of April.

Their relatives were desperately seeking details from the BSF headquarters in Delhi.

Manjit Kaur, widow of Gurbaksh Singh, who belonged to Nainakot was waiting for the ashes of her husband to complete certain religious rites, a report from Gurdaspur said. She said Gurbaksh Singh was scheduled to visit his village on April 23.

Gurbaksh Singh's brother Kishan Singh, who himself is an ex-serviceman, said he came to know about the tragedy from newspersons.

The scene at Sukhjinder Singh's village Majithi, on the Indo-Pak border in the same district, was not very different. His grandfather Subedar Gurmukh Singh had also laid down his life, during the Second World War in 1944.

Sukhjinder Singh's father Bachan Singh said he came to know about the tragedy from newspersons, which was later confirmed by a telegram from the BSF headquarters. But no details were available when he contacted the BSF Sector Headquarters at Gurdaspur.

Sukhjinder Singh's widow Ranjit Kaur said he had come to the village in January last and was expected to visit again soon. Sukhjinder had joined the BSF in 1993.

Family members of Anand Singh Dahiya who belonged to Garhi-Sisana village, 30 km from Rohtak, also came to know about the tragedy through newspapers.

Dahiya, who had joined the BSF in 1990, was the only earning member of the family. He is survived by his wife Kavita and two kids Puja (5) and Amit (2).

He also belonged to a family of ex-servicemen and his father Dayanand had fought in the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars. Anand was scheduled to visit his village on Wednesday.

Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, who termed the killings of the BSF jawans by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) as 'a most heinous and inhuman act', has announced an ex-gratia grant of Rs one million to the next of kin of Anand Dahiya on the pattern of Kargil martyrs.

UNI

ALSO SEE
The BSF casualty list

The Complete Coverage

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