In the deadliest terror attack on security forces in Kashmir, around 40 CRPF personnel were killed when their convoy was targetted in Awantipora area of Pulwama district.
When Neeraj Devi was happily speaking with her husband on the phone on Thursday around 3 p.m. she did not know what the next few seconds would portend. She heard a deafening noise at the other end, and the call went blank. Her husband Pradeep Singh Yadav was among the 40 CRPF personnel blown up in the horrific fidayeen attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama that day.
Pradeep Singh Yadav was on the ill-fated CRPF bus that was part of a convoy of 78 vehicles ferrying security personnel to Srinagar from Jammu when a Jaish-e-Mohammad suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden SUV into the vehicle, blowing it to smithereens.
Speaking to media, his wife-- Neeraj Devi said, "I was talking to my husband on the 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".
Families of the killed personnel have been left devastated.
The wife of CRPF jawan H Guru, who was killed in the terrorist attack, said she missed her husband's phone call the day before and by the time she called him back it was all over. She had already lost her husband.
“I received a call from my husband yesterday but I was unable to take it as I was preoccupied with some work. By the time I called back, his phone was out of reach. I had the chance to speak to him one last time, but my fate was as fatal as that of was my husband,” she told News 18.
“He used to talk about the difficulties in his job of protecting the border. He worked in extreme weather conditions in many parts of the country. I was extremely proud of my husband for protecting the country. But when he needed it, he himself had no protection,” she added.
When Rohitash Lamba, Bhagirath Singh, and Hemraj Meena left their homes in Rajasthan earlier this week with the promise that they would return to their families soon, nobody had imagined that it would turn out to be their last visit.
Lamba, Singh, and Meena were among the 40 CRPF personnel killed in a terrorist attack in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.
Recalling the jawans' passion and love for the country, the grieving family members said that they were always ready to serve the nation.
"He always wanted to do something for the country," said the wife of Lamba.
Barely two months ago, Lamba had expressed his joy on becoming a father on social media.
He rejoined duty on February 12 after spending several days with his family, including his two-month-old son.
A pall of gloom descended at Govindpura Basadi village near Shahpura, around 65 km from Jaipur, as the news of Lamba's death reached them.
The former deputy speaker of Rajasthan Assembly and former Shahpura legislator Rao Rajendra Singh met Lamba's family members on Friday and expressed his condolences.
He said that Lamba's wife fell unconscious on hearing the tragic news and had to be hospitalised.
The family of 27-year-old Bhagirath Singh, a resident of Jaitpur village in Dholpur district, was struggling to come to terms with the loss.
On Friday, the entire village of Jaitpur mourned the death of the young man.
"We never knew that he would leave us so early. He had promised his father and family to return soon two days ago but they had never imagined that it would be his last visit home," Jaitpur sarpanch Kapur Chand Gurjar said.
He said that Singh's mother had passed away when he was a kid. His father Parshuram, a farmer, brought up his two sons alone. Singh joined CRPF four years ago, whereas his younger brother Balveer joined Uttar Pradesh Police.
Singh married Ranjna four years ago and has three-year-old son Vinay and a-year-and-a-half-old daughter Shivangi.
Hemraj Meena's wife Madhu received a call from the CRPF camp in Jammu around 10 pm Thursday, informing her about his demise.
Soon after the news reached the area, villagers came out of their homes and gathered outside Meena's home to pay their tributes.
Kota-Bundi MP Om Birla, local MLA Bharat Singh, former MP Ijayraj Singh, former MLA Bhawani Singh Rajawat and several other dignitaries and administrative officials reached Meena's home and consoled the wailing family.
Hemraj Meena, the only government servant among four brothers and one sister, had been full of love for the country and patriotism since his early days, his elder brother, who runs a tea stall in the village, said.
Hemraj Meena is survived by four children -- two daughters and two sons.
The terror attack on Thursday was one of the biggest shocks for CRPF jawan Pradeep Singh's family who lives in Azan village of Kannauj district in Uttar Pradesh.
"Even if the forces launch a crackdown against terrorism after this incident my husband will not come back. He came on leave for 40 days and had left for Kashmir on February 11. Our family had no idea that we will never be able to see Pradeep alive again," Singh's wife told India Today.
"My son wanted to serve the nation since childhood but we never thought that his determination will see such a barbaric end. He has left behind his wife and two children. It will be very difficult for us to live without him," said Singh's mother.
Earlier speaking to news agency ANI, the father of one of the slain CRPF jawan Ratan Thakur in Bihar said that he is ready to give up his other son for the service of the country but Pakistan had to be given a befitting reply for the terror act.
"I have sacrificed a son in Mother India's service, I will send my other son as well to fight. I am ready to give him up for Mother India, but Pakistan must be given a befitting reply," the father said in Bhagalpur.
With tears in her eyes, the wife of CRPF personnel Pankaj Tripathi has sought for strict action against those who carried the attack.
In the deadliest terror attack on security forces in Kashmir, 40 CRPF personnel were killed when their convoy was targetted in Awantipora area of Pulwama district on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway.
JeM, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the attack.
(With inputs from agencies)