While his 70-year-old father, H.G. Lall, a retired IAS officer, remained stoic, his mother, Sashi Lall, a retired lecturer, was inconsolable and has barely spoken since the tragic news were broken to her.

Joy's younger brother, Amit Lall, told Chandigarh Newsline that Joy, who was proceeding on a two-month leave, was travelling from Srinagar to Jammu and there on to Amritsar. Two other ITBP personnel were also killed in the explosion, besides 10 injured.

"Joy had gone to Kashmir on temporary assignment in April. His wife, Gita, along with their two children, seven-and-a-half-year-old Kartik and three-year-old Mehak were still in Amritsar and were brought here early this morning," Amit said. Heartbroken, Gita was silent in her grief. Theirs had been an arranged marriage, solemnised about nine years ago.

Amit said though they had been speaking to Joy often, they had last met him in March when he was on his way to Amritsar from Delhi to take up his new assignment.

Even as relatives, amidst tearful wails, consoled his wife, Gita, his two children remained oblivious of the tragedy. "They have not been told yet that they would never see their father again," Amit said.

After studying at Government Senior Secondary School in Sector 16, Chandigarh, and Sector 11 Government College, he completed is masters in Psychology from Panjab University before joining the ITBP in 1989.

Fond of English country music, his friends say that though he was good at academics, he was not very keen on sports during his student days. "A happy, fun-loving person, Joy was popular with everyone around. He was a very caring and responsible person," said one of his friends, Jatinder Jit Singh.

A good marksman, Joy had represented the ITBP in shooting competitions at the national level as well as during police duty meets. He had returned last year after a stint with the UN Forces in Bosnia. Prior to this, he had served a term with the elite Special Protection Group.

His body is expected to reach here late this evening or early tomorrow morning. Family members said that the vehicle in which the body is being brought here broke down en route and another vehicle has been arranged by authorities from Srinagar. Throughout the day, the family has been frantically checking with the military control room to find out when the body would arrive.