Pulwama attack anniversary: Families remember CRPF martyrs as promises remain pending

Chandigarh: On the seventh anniversary of the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, families of the 40 CRPF personnel who lost their lives gathered to pay tribute, even as some say promised memorials remain incomplete.

India marked seven years since the February 14, 2019 terror attack in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, in which 40 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed.

The attack was carried out by a suicide bomber linked to Jaish-e-Mohammad, who rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a CRPF convoy on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.

In Punjab, families of some of the fallen personnel paid tribute to their loved ones while raising concerns over pending assurances.

Sukhjit Kaur, widow of CRPF personnel Jaimal Singh from Ghalauti village in Moga district, said a stadium announced in her husband’s name has not yet been built. She added that a memorial gate on Ghalauti Road, also promised in his honour, remains incomplete. Jaimal Singh was driving the CRPF bus targeted in the attack.

“Only we know how difficult it is to spend a life without him,” Kaur said, adding that their son, who was five-and-a-half at the time of the attack, is now 12 and often remembers his father.

In Gandiwind village of Tarn Taran district, the family of martyr Sukhjinder Singh also marked the anniversary. His brother Gurjant Singh urged authorities to upgrade a government school named after Sukhjinder to include classes up to Class 12 and to complete an under-construction stadium dedicated to him.

The Pulwama attack remains one of the deadliest assaults on Indian security forces in recent years, and the anniversary continues to evoke grief among families and the wider public.
(With PTI inputs)