Last Wednesday had begun early for Biro Devi’s family. The children were with their tutor and the women were busy with their household chores. At the crack of dawn, the militants barged in, spraying bullets and taking the entire family hostage—except for Biro Devi’s older son Billu Ram Bhagat who was away in hospital after a snake bite. The militants also overpowered the tutor, Ashok Kumar, and Sandeep Singh Chib, a neighbour who reached there after hearing the commotion. What followed were a chilling 17 hours during which the terrorists screamed and abused the hostages. Outside, the security forces engaged the militants in a fierce encounter, at the end of which tutor Ashok Kumar and neighbour Chib were killed. A military intelligence personnel, Sham Murari, was also killed. The family was safe but scarred.
Those 17 hours haunt Biro Devi all day—she says she is too traumatised to even eat. “Neighbours bring me food. But how can I eat when I am so tense? Most of the times, the food stays untouched,” she says.
Back in the hospital, Biro Devi’s son Billu Ram, who is attending to his wife Sunita Devi in hospital, says he too is worried for the children. They watched in horror as the militants shot dead teacher Ashok Kumar and Sham Murari, a military intelligence personnel who confronted the militants inside their house. They were made to sit on the floor by the side of their injured mother for over 17 hours, hungry and thirsty, their clothes stained with blood. All through this, the terrorists kept slapping and threatening to kill them if they wept.
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