He was on phone when blast took place: Slain jawan's wife

KANPUR: The final phone call made by CRPF jawan Pradeep Singh Yadav, who was killed in

Pulwama terror

attack on Thursday, was to his wife Neeraj Devi. He was on the phone and talking to his wife when the suicide bomber rammed his SUV into the CRPF convoy, killing him and many of his colleagues.


"I was talking to my husband on phone when I heard a deafening sound from the other side, seconds after which there was complete silence and the call got disconnected. Sensing something untoward has happened, I made several attempts to know about his well-being, but everything was over for me," said Neeraj, a native of Ajan Sukhsenpur village in

Kannauj district

of Uttar Pradesh.

"I later received another phone call, this time from the CRPF control room, informing me about my husband's death in a blast," she added.


Deceased Pradeep's wife along with their two children was at her mother's place at Barasirohi village in Kalyanpur area of Kanpur when the blast happened in Pulwama. She rushed to Ajan Sukhsenpur, the native village of her husband, where the mortal remains of the soldier are likely to reach by Saturday.

Neeraj has two minor daughters - Supriya, 10, and Sona, 2. "He (Pradeep) was very fond of Sona and when he last spoke to me on Thursday, he inquired about her well-being... he spoke about her for nearly 10 minutes," said an inconsolable Neeraj.

"A few minutes after Neeraj spoke to Pradeep, we heard her screams. She broke down after receiving the phone call from CRPF control room, which confirmed the death of Pradeep," said a family member of the deceased soldier.



"Though we are proud of the sacrifice my brother made, deep inside we are angry too," said Sonu, maternal cousin of Pradeep. Sonu said Pradeep had last visited home earlier this month.

It was for the government to decide what action should be taken against the terrorists, he said, adding, "Now, we want action and not assurances."

Pradeep's schoolteachers said he was a good student and always wanted to serve the nation.

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