Martyrs’ bodies received with tears in hometowns

The scene witnessed at Tiruchy was a heart-rendering one as the minister, bureaucrats and public waited for hours to receive the bodies. The special Air Force aircraft landed at 5.30 pm and the bodies of CRPF jawans N Senthil Kumar (35) of Needamangalam in Tiruvarur, M Padmanaban (44) of Valangaiman in Tiruvarur and N Thirumurugan (35) of Viraganur in Athur, Salem, were received by the Tamil Nadu Food Minister R Kamaraj along with the Collectors KS Palanisamy (Tiruchy) and L Nirmalraj (Tiruvarur). They paid a floral tribute to the martyrs.

The body of Thirumurugan was sent with escort of police and CRPF personnel. Similarly, bodies of sons of Tiruvarur were accompanied by district collector Nirmalraj.

N Senthilkumar (38), one of the 25 CRPF personnel killed in Maoist attack was a son of the retired works Inspector of PWD Narayanan, who is no more. He was a constable in 74th battalion of CRPF. He is survived by his wife Vidhya (30) and son Sakthipriyan (8) and mother Amirthavalli (65). 

It is an inconsolable story on the part of M Padmanaban (44) On May 31, M Padmanabhan (44), the Head Constable of 74th Battalion CRPF, would have been relieved of his duties under voluntary retirement scheme to unite with his family. However, his dream of a peaceful civilian life was shattered after the attack.

Padmanabhan was married to Maheswari and has two children Muralidharan (5), Monica (2). 

Nallur-Thittacheri village in Salem district the native of Tirumurugan turned into a zone of grief. “When we heard the news that the CRPF jawans were killed by Naxalites at Sukma we prayed for his safety. But late in the evening (on Monday) we got the shocking news,” said Tirumurugan’s father Nallathambi (55), a small farmer. 

Thirumurugan is the eldest of the three sons of Adi Dravidar couple Nallathambi and Pounaambal (50). After Class 12, he went to college for only 3 months. “My son quit studies after he was selected for the CRPF,” his father added. Married to Selvi, Murugan is a father of three, two daughters and a son who are in class 6, 4 and 1 respectively. 

He served in Coimbatore and was transferred to Chhattisgarh only 7 months ago. His family is yet to come out of the shock of his sudden demise. 

The jawan from Alagupandi (28) from Madurai, was buried with full state honours at his native village of Muthunayagipuram near Peraiyur in Madurai district, on Tuesday. 

Several members of Alagupandi’s family are part of various uniformed services. Official sources said that Alagupandi was the eldest child of Pitchaialagu-Rakammal couple. Alagupandi, whose father was an ex-serviceman, joined the CRPF in 2009. His younger brother Pavithran (23) was recently selected for the army. At Madurai Airport, Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, State Minister for Revenue, RB Udayakumar, Madurai Collector, K Veera Raghav Rao, and Madurai SP, Vijeyendra Bidari, paid respects to the body.

The government on Tuesday announced a solatium of Rs 20 lakh each to families of four slain CRPF personnel hailing from the state. The four were among the 25 CRPF personnel killed in the Naxal attack in Chattisgarh on Monday. Chief Minister K Palaniswamy condoled the death of M Padmanaban, N Senthil Kumar, N Thirumurugan and P Azhagupandi and expressed his sympathies to their families. “I have directed providing a sum of Rs 20 lakh to the families of the 4 deceased CRPF personnel,” he said in a statement.