Says CRPF's Head Constable D Santosh Kumar, who was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for killing three terrorists during the Parliament attack
Says CRPF's Head Constable D Santosh Kumar, who was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for killing three terrorists during the Parliament attack
He aspired to be in the middle of action and was disappointed with his posting at Parliament House in the Capital. But within six months, Head Constable D Santosh Kumar, who had joined the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in July 2006, got his moment of fame.
He was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for killing three militants out of the five who dared to attack the Parliament House on December 13, 2001. "He surprised all with his bravery and agility. He was a young sepoy but the way he carried himself in the face of the attack was amazing. He behaved like a war veteran," said a senior CRPF officer, talking about Santosh Kumar.u00a0
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For Kumar, December 13 started like any other day and he was manning the sentry post on the outer periphery of the Parliament House. He was supposed to leave the post at 2 pm but at around 1 pm, he heard gunshots.
"Suddenly, the security wireless cracked announcing an attack on the most protected place in the country.
One of my seniors who was unarmed came rushing to me and asked me to take position," said Kumar.
Santosh picked up his Self Loading Rifle and took guard behind a tree. A moment later, he saw four militants rushing towards the main Parliament building through Gate No 1. "We heard a blast and later came to know it was the explosion of a human bomb. I saw the four men climbing down a wall and rushing towards the building.
They were close to the entrance and were firing at every direction," he said.
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Even though Kumar was alone at his post, he started engaging the militants and blocked their entry into the main building that was occupied by Parliamentarians. "His strategy was accurate and he quickly killed the first militant. After this, the other three started firing at him. Even then, Kumar stood his ground and kept firing," said the officer.
Within half-an-hour, Kumar fired 27 rounds and killed two more militants, bringing the operation to an unexpected end. "For a moment no one believed that the operation was over but there was only blood outside Gate No 1," said Kumar.
Engaged even today
Kumar is now fighting extremists in the forests of Dantewada in Chhattisgarh. "We are deep inside a forest with no mobile coverage and can be attacked anytime, anywhere," Kumar said.
Even though he is a master marksman in the CRPF, Kumar has volunteered to defuse live bombs. "I don't have a count of the number of live bombs I have defused," he said.
After a series of postings in insurgency-affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir and Chhattisgarh Kumar is looking forward to kill more militants. "Parliament ke baad abhi tak mauka nahi mila hai. Magar ab jab kabhi bhi time milega, kisiko nahi chodunga (I haven't got the chance to kill militants after the Parliament attack. But once I get the chance, I will not let even one off)," he said.
The only setback in his plan is that Kumar misses his family and his four-year-old daughter Saumya who live in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. "My family keeps waiting for my call and even after so many operations and one Shaurya Chakra they are bothered about my safety. I can comfort them only through phone but that too is very irregular in the forest," he said.
Insensitive government
Santosh Kumar was awarded a meager sum of Rs 50,000 by Parliamentarians, who did not even bother to ask about him after the operation. "Once the attack was over and the militants were dead, the Parliamentarians kept calling each other. But they did not even try to know about the securitymen who fought for them.
Santosh is a native of Uttar Pradesh but the state government did not honour him," said a senior CRPF officer, wishing anonymity.
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