‘He wanted to get a posting to Assam soon’: Slain CRPF jawan’s wife

There is still disbelief at the Basumatary household in Kalbari Village of Baksa district, one of the four in the Bodo Territorial Administrative Districts.

There is still disbelief at the Basumatary household in Kalbari Village of Baksa district, one of the four in the Bodo Territorial Administrative Districts. The confirmation that Maneswar Basumatary was killed in Thursday’s suicide attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir only on Friday. Maneswar was the sole bread winner of the family of four.

CRPF jawan Maneswar Basumatary and his wife. (Sadiq Naqvi/ HT photo)

“All of last evening we were seeing on WhatsApp and Facebook that one M Basumatary was one of the victims in the bus. But we were still hopeful that it may have been someone else,” said Kamal Boro, the nephew of the slain 48-year-old CRPF havildar. “It is too sudden,” Boro said.

Inside the house, Sanmati Basumatary, Maneswar’s wife, sobbed as she recounted how he wanted to get a transfer to Assam soon. “He would say it is dangerous in Jammu and Kashmir. There are too many bombs and attacks,” she said as the house saw a steady stream of visitors, including politicians coming to grieve the death.

During the day, Ranjeet Kumar Dass, the BJP president of Assam, visited the family and made Sanmati talk to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. The phone call lasted less than 20 seconds. Sonowal later announced a compensation of ₹20 lakh late last evening.

“I spoke to Malik (Maneswar) last early morning yesterday. He just said he was leaving Jammu for Srinagar,” Sanmati said.

Maneswar, had returned to Jammu on February 4 after spending over a month in Kalbari.

“He will be cremated here tomorrow,” said a villager who was part of a group clearing up the plot adjacent to the house.

Dhananjai Basumatary, one of his two children who is finishing his graduation in Kokrajhar, recalled how he would tell him that he should take voluntary retirement and come back. “But he would tell us that he wanted to continue to ensure that we finish our studies,” Dhananjai said.