Three years on, kin of martyrs still shocked

Patna: Three years have passed since at least 40 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, including two from Bihar, sacrificed their lives in a terror attack in Pulwama in Jammu & Kashmir on February 14, 2019, but their family members are yet to come to terms with the incident.
For the families of the two martyrs from Bihar – Sanjay Kumar Sinha (Patna) and Ratan Kumar Thakur (Bhagalpur) – the attack was still a nightmare.
Ratan’s father Ram Niranjan Thakur, a resident of Madarganj village in Bhagalpur district, is proud that his son made the supreme sacrifice while serving the nation. He is, however, also angry with the government for the “unfulfilled promises”. Thakur said after the Pulwama incident, ministers, MPs, MLAs and other public representatives made a beeline for their house and assured all possible help, but did nothing with the passage of time.
“My son sacrificed his life for the country and made us proud. However, the government has failed to fulfil its promises. They promised to provide us a home, rename the village school after my son and develop an RCC drain network in the village. However, nothing has been done yet. We are living in a pathetic condition,” Thakur added.
He hoped that his grandsons would join the Army and serve the nation. “I wish that Ratan’s sons – Krishna (6) and Ram Rachit – join the Army. Krishna, who studies in Class I, wants to wear the Army uniform and avenge the killing of his father. This makes us all emotional,” he said.