Author: Toufiq Rashid
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: September 27, 2002
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/archive_full_story.php?content_id=10229
They were the only two National
Security Guard (NSG) commandos who came within handshaking distance of
the two terrorists during Operation Vajra Shakti at the Swaminarayan temple
complex at Akshardham.
Subedar Suresh Chand Yadav didn't
survive the encounter; and his boss, Major Rajesh Sharma, who watched him
die, was as inconsolable as Yadav's family members at the commando's cremation
at his village today.
A distraught Sharma today accompanied
Yadav's body on its journey from the NSG headquarters at Manesar to his
Khetan Khera village. Thousands from neighbouring villages poured in to
mourn Yadav, who is the first NSG commando to have been killed in an operation
of this nature.
Yadav was providing Sharma cover
during the operation. ''He was the most reliable and courageous of the
lot,'' said Sharma, who kept referring to his junior as saheb. That's the
reason Yadav was entrusted charge of one of the teams even as the commandos
took off from New Delhi for Gandhinagar.
''As an officer in the 51st battalion,
I had faith in his organisational capabilities and knew he was very brave.
So I told him in the aircraft itself that he would be leading one of the
teams,'' Sharma told The Indian Express. As they ringed the Swaminarayan
temple complex, Sharma spotted the terrorists sneaking into the main temple
premises. He called for cover, and took turns with Yadav in firing at the
terrorists. ''The terrorists had an advantage since they were in the dark
while we were in a lit area. Even our night goggles were of no help. The
only time we saw their faces is when they fired at us,'' he said.
It was during this exchange of fire
and wits that a bullet hit Yadav's cheek-bone and pierced through his skull,
while another hit Sharma on his shoulder. ''He was ahead of me, so I called
on his transmitter. There was no response. I assumed that his transmitter
was low on battery. When I reached him, he was lying face down in a pool
of blood.''
Yadav leaves behind three children-
Sunita(18), Manoj (16) and Sandeep(12). ''This is the reason I am shedding
tears,'' Sharma said, pointing to Sunita. ''She was to get married on December
13 this year. The marriage may now be called off.'' Yadav ''always'' wanted
to join the armed forces, said his father Gokul Singh Yadav, who retired
from the Army as a soldier. ''He joined the forces in 1978, just a year
after I retired. In fact, I accompanied him to his first posting,'' said
the 70 year-old.
Gokul Yadav worried for his three
grand-children, especially Sandeep, who was still in his school jersey.
''He used to stay with his father at Manesar since he studied there. In
fact, he was bought to the village by the team who informed the family
about the death,'' said Yadav's brother, Bhoop Singh.
The Rajasthan Government has sactioned
a 'special Kargil package' to Yadav's family-his wife will get Rs one lakh
in cash, 25 bighas of irrigated land in the first or second phase of the
Indira Gandhi Canal Project or an Middle Income Group house from the State
Housing board. Alternatively, she could opt for Rs four lakh in cash. A
sum of Rs 1.02 lakh will also be deposited in the post office, jointly
in the name of Yadav's parents.
