CRPF jawan's brother recalls last talk hours before attack

Rajesh Rajput spoke to his younger brother Sanjay, a CRPF jawan, on phone Thursday morning.

Little did he know that it would be their last conversation.

Sanjay Rajput (45) was among the 40 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force killed when a terrorist rammed a bomb-laden vehicle into their bus in Pulwama district of south Kashmir Thursday afternoon.

A pall of gloom descended over the CRPF Group Centre Colony here, where Sanjay's family lives, as the news came.

Rajesh told PTI that his brother was attached to the CRPF's 213th battalion, based in Nagpur, for the last four years.

He lived in the CRPF colony with his two sons Jai (13) and Shubham (11) and wife Sushma Rajput.

"He left Nagpur on February 11 for his new posting with the 115th battalion in Srinagar. I called him yesterday morning, around 9.30 am, when he told me he had left Jammu at 3.30 am to join his new posting," said Rajesh.

Rajesh said his brother, in 23-year-long career with the paramilitary force, had served in Kashmir, Chhattisgarh and also in the North-East.

The Rajput family hails from Malkapur in Maharashtra's Buldhana district.

Sanjay's mortals remains are expected to arrive in Nagpur Saturday, his brother said, adding that the last rites will be performed at Malkapur in the evening.