It was through a news channel that the family of Jharkhand Jaguar (JJ) jawan Sunil Dhan, 33, first learned about the blast and his death in a Naxal attack in Chaibasa’s Jaraikela on April 12.
An Advaisi from the Oraon tribe, Sunil, a father of two and a resident of Kanti Podha Toli village in Khunti district, was killed in a landmine explosion during an anti-Naxal operation near the Radhapoda camp in West Singhbhum while he was part of a rescue team sent out to bring back a trooper from the Central Reserve Police Force’s elite anti-insurgency unit CoBRA who was wounded in the operation.
“Before we received any official communication, it was the news that told us about the IED blast and chacha’s (uncle’s) death,” his niece Manisha Horo told The Indian Express at a wreath-laying ceremony for her uncle at the Jharkhand Jaguar Headquarters in Ranchi. “His children were too young to understand what it meant to lose their father. Aniket, the youngest, kept asking why every police jawan was saluting, but not his father. ‘Why is he silently sleeping?’ he wanted to know. Now, who will take care of them – the children, his wife and mother?” Horo asks.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren attended the ceremony.
According to a senior police official, the blast occurred in a wooded area where top CPI (Maoist) leaders, including Misir Besra and Anmol, are reportedly active. Addressing the media, Director General of Police (DGP) Anurag Gupta said that Dhan and his team were dispatched to rescue a CRPF jawan who was wounded during operations under the Jaraikela police station.
“We offer our deepest condolences to his family. He was a brave and young soldier, and we will soon take revenge for his sacrifice. In Jharkhand, only a few Naxalites remain — and we will hunt them down,” he said.
According to security sources, the special joint operation, launched on March 4, involves Chaibasa Police, CoBRA, CRPF, and Jharkhand Jaguar. Security forces continue to search the area, they added.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Governor Santosh Gangwar both attended Sunday’s ceremony.
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“Extremism has long plagued the nation, but today, it’s breathing its last,” Soren said. “Our security forces’ relentless operations have brought the fight to its final stage. The few extremists left are acting out of desperation — their plans are failing, and their end is near”.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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