Taken hostage at gunpoint, two brave youth from a nondescript village in Udhampur have suddenly shot to fame. They not only overpowered a Pakistani terrorist who had taken refuge in a forest near their village, they also managed to save the lives of the other men who were taken hostage. Mohit Kandhari bring you a report from village Chirdi which is suddenly in the limelight after years of neglect
Travelling on the 300 km long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway 1-A is considered to be relatively safe even in the wee hours. This is because of the road opening parties (ROP) deployed along the sensitive highway sanitise the road daily before allowing any convoy movement.
The presence of sniffer dogs and state-of-the-art technology used by ROP to detect the presence of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other explosive material, buried deep add a sense of security among travellers. They often wave at the jawans and salute them for performing their duties. At strategic locations, Quick Reaction Teams (QRT’S) are stationed to meet any exigency.
The early morning chill and serene beauty adds to the spirit of adventure here. Sometimes, traffic jams act as a dampner but eateries dotting the highway offer mouth watering delicacies and many say it is a lifetime experience for many first-timers.
Sharp curves and bends introduce you to picturesque landscapes and exotic locales which can only be seen in this part of the country. If one is travelling on the highway during the Amarnath Yatra season, chances are that you will be escorted along the route by security personnel. But August 5, 2015 was not one of those safe days.
Breaching several layers of security blanket two heavily armed Pakistani terrorists suddenly came out of nowhere in front of a BSF convoy near Narsoo Nullah, 17 km from Udhampur and sprayed bullets on a bus targeting the driver and its front wheels at 7 am.
It was after a long gap, the last time the passengers had a face-off with terror was in May 2011 when an IED blast had shattered the peace 2 km short of the Northern Command Headquarters in Udhampur.
This time round, the terrorists stunned the entire security grid in the State by mounting an audacious strike close to the Northern Command Headquarters. Though security experts differ on why these terrorists chose to target this area, ongoing investigations will reveal the sinister gameplan behind targeting this otherwise clean lifeline of the State.
The battle between the security forces and the terrorists came to an end when two local villagers and members of the village defence committee helped them capture a Pakistani terrorist from a small village — Chirdi, Chenanitehsil in Udhampur district. The only claim to fame for this village is that it is located only a few km away from Samroli which is famous for its crispy kaladi kulcha (made out of processed cheese).
The two local villagers who overpowered the terrorist Mohd Naved from Faislabad in Pakistan, became instant heroes as the news spread of the capture of the terrorist.
The youth, Rakesh Sharma, a pandit with a temple in Jammu and his brother-in-law Vikramjit, a driver employed in a local factory in Samba, displayed exemplary courage and presence of mind while capturing the terrorist. The two were on holiday when they were taken hostage by the terrorist at gun point after he ran away from the BSF. But before taking Sharma and Vikramjit hostage, he had taken three more hostages.
Before attacking the BSF convoy the two Pakistani terrorists had waited for a long time near Narsoo Nullah (water body along the highway). It is believed that they took a ride on a truck and traveled overnight from Kulgam in the Valley before they were dropped off near Samroli where they are learnt to have spent the night where they waited till 7 am before attacking the BSF convoy killing two jawans and injuring 13 others. One terrorist was dressed in Army fatigues in order to avoid detection by the locals.
Interestingly, before opening fire on the BSF convoy, a convoy of Army jawans, CRPF and Amarnath Yatra crossed the very same spot. But the terrorists surfaced only at 7 am from behind the trucks parked in front of roadside eateries and started firing indiscriminately.
The BSF convoy had 45 personnel who were on way to the Valley to report back on duty after a holiday. Therefore, most of the jawans were asleep. Only one armed constable Rocky, 59 Battalion, was on guard. It was due to his alertness that the terrorists who barged into the bus and open fire indiscriminately were neutralised swiftly. He was the reason why so many of his colleagues are still alive today. As reinforcements arrived the other terrorist ran away from the scene and took refuge in the nearby jungle.
A bleeding Rocky and another BSF jawan Shubendu Rai who had held the front door of the bus from inside succumbed to their injuries in the hospital. The security forces meanwhile started a search of the area to hunt down the terrorist who had run away who then ran towards Narsoo village and took the stony zig zag path going uphill.
With the sun up, the villagers of Chirdi started to go about their usual business. The village doesn’t have a road link and the only way to reach is the stony natural rocky foot steps to reach their village. The terrorist who was hiding in the maize field was spotted by the locals who were working in the fields. It has here that the terrorist took three locals hostage and directed them to move in the nearby jungle away from the prying eyes of the other villagers.
On way, the small party came across Sharma and Vikramjit who were also taken hostage. Naved threatened to kill them if they tried any tricks and also used abusive language.
After trekking for sometime, he felt exhausted and demanded food and water. One hostage Rajkumar, handed him his food packet while Vikramjit volunteered to fetch water for him from a house in the village.
The terrorist and other hostages were hiding in the nursery of Social Forestry department of the village when the security forces arrived and started search operations. Seeing the security forces in their village Vikramjit gathered courage and on his return where the others were hiding, he and Sharma pounced on Naved.
One held him by his neck and the other caught hold of his rifle. The minute the Pakistani was overpowered, the other three villagers including Des Raj, Ramesh and Raj Kumar ran to safety. In the scuffle that followed the terrorist in a bid to free himself bit Sharma’s and Vikramjit’s wrists. But the two held on tightly.
Meanwhile, the freed villagers started shouting for help. Hearing the commotion, members of the village defence committee, other villagers and a few policemen arrived at the scene and handcuffed Naved. When the security forces came to know that the Chirdi villagers had caught a terrorist, they rushed to the spot and took custody of him, acknowledging their act of bravery. The locals too acknowledged the incredible act of valour, brought Sharma and Vikramjit back on their shoulders.
Sarpanch Subash Chander told Sunday Pioneer that despite being unarmed, Rakesh and Vikramjit have done their motherland a great service by remaining alert and fearless even in the face of death.
“To see such bravery, from people in my village which doesn’t even have basic amenities like a proper road, sanitation, drinking water, electricity and toilet facilities and yet be so close to the highway, shows that the youth is now prepared to fight any invasion form across the border,” he said.
He also said that even though the village population is over 3,000 there is no proper health facility. “We have to carry the ill on our shoulders and many a times the person dies even before reaching the hospital. There is lot of road construction happening in nearby villages and there is no security personnel deployed near their village. We are only 10 km from the national highway yet are deprived of basic amenities,” Chander says.
Though the Chirdi villagers are happy, local shopkeepers in the area are not too happy. They fear that the terror strike may lead to a loss in their business as passengers traveling on the highway may now not want to stop here.
“Already in the last three days we have not seen a single vehicle stopping for a snack. Many security personnel and a team from National Investigation Agency are also making rounds of Chirdi village to piece together the chronology of events which has also affected our business,” adhabawallah tells you.
State Health and Medical Education Minister Choudhary lal Singh who visited the village last week had only word of praise for Sharma and Vikramjit and their act of bravery. He announced a cash prize of Rs50,000 and a house under Indira Awaas Yojana to each braveheart. He also gave an assurance to them that he would personally recommend their names for both the State and national bravery awards.
Even as the two bravehearts are basking in glory and enjoying all the media attention, their families are worried. “Our village has shot to limelight for capturing a Pakistani terrorist. We appeal to the State Government to provide adequate security so that we are not targeted in the future by other terrorists to avenge the arrest of their man.
Sharma’s father, Kali Das said: “I am worried about the safety of my son and son-in-law. We are not able to sleep at night. The Government should provide villagers with sophisticated weapons so that we can defend ourselves if there is a similar attack in the future,” Das says.
Pertinent demand, one must say.