Bihar: Nobody From State or Centre Attended Last Rites of CRPF Jawan Killed Fighting Terrorists in J&K

At a time when the entire political discourse revolves around soldiers laying down their lives for the country, no Central or state minister was present when Bihar’s Arrah district resident Mujahid Khan, a CRPF jawan who was killed during a gun battle with militants in Karan Nagar area of Srinagar on February 12, was being laid to rest at Peero village on February 14.

Forget about the state honour during his last rites and absence of political leaders – including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, even officials of the state government were not present at the ceremony.

Putting salt on the wound of the grieving family, the sub-divisional officer offered a cheque of Rs 5 lakh – which was turned down by Khan’s father, adding that “it’s an insult to the martyrdom” of his son.

Khan succumbed to injuries at a Srinagar hospital on February 12. The terror attack took place in the wee hours of that day and was thwarted by guards at the Karan Nagar CRPF camp but the militants managed to escape and holed up at a nearby building. Khan received bullet injuries in the ensuing gun battle that continued for more than 20 hours. Two militants allegedly associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba were killed.

When Khan’s body reached his village on February 14, a large crowd gathered there to have a last glimpse of the jawan who sacrificed his life for the nation. Their anger was palpable over the absence of the Central and state leaderships and state officials.

“My brother sacrificed his life for the country and see how he is being treated. No representative of the State or the Centre bothered to attend the funeral. This is how we treat our martyrs,” Khan’s brother Imtiaz told Newsclick.

Asked why they turned down the offer of Rs 5 lakh by the state government, he said, “Has he died consuming liquor? What will we do with this money?”

Khan’s father had last seen his son in November 2017 and had told him about marriage proposals which Khan turned down adding he wants to serve the country first.

“When he (Khan) was at home in November last year, I asked him to get married but he refused saying that he first wants to do something for the country,” said the wailing father.

Asked how they came to know about the operation being carried out, the bereaved said while struggling to speak, “He had sent a video of him fighting with the militants to one of his friends. I was praying for the successful operation and safety of all those who were involved in the gun battle. Few hours later, we got the news of his demise.”

Meanwhile, state Cabinet Minister of Building Construction Department (PWD) Maheshwar Hazari stirred controversy, adding that he does not know anyone from the state dying in Jammu and Kashmir.