At 10 am, as the seven coffins were lined up in a row and jawans and family fought tears, all the talk was about how those killed in yesterday’s terror strike had served in some of the most adverse circumstances in the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir, fighting insurgency and militancy.

And that perhaps, it was the “tranquility” of Rampur that made them an easy target in an attack that a top CRPF official called “wouldn’t have lasted more than five minutes.”

Consider the profiles of the dead:

• Colleagues of head constable Afzal Ahmed recalled how more than a year ago, he and other CRPF men were ambushed by Naxalites near near Bokaro in Jharkhand. One jawan died in the attack and a dozen Naxalites were killed. Ahmed’s next posting was at the sensitive Raghunath Temple in Jammu, also the scene of a terror attack in 2002.

• Head Constable Rishikesh Rai had served for 26 years, including several in the North-East. Before moving to Rampur, he was posted in Srinagar with the 62nd Unit of the CRPF. He was part of six teams that were rewarded for bravery.

On the night of the Jan 1 attack, he was shot dead in the control room itself. He is survived by three schoolgoing daughters.

• Ramji Sharan Mishra’s service file still carries a “commendation certificate” from SSP, Ludhiana, from the days of his duty during militancy in Punjab. In his 22 years with the force, he served in the North-East and in the Valley.

... contd.