A SOLDIER’S APPEAL FOR JUSTICE

“They protect the borders , but who protects their loved ones ?”

          On the fateful day of 22 Mar 2008 , Capt Rashika took an oath to serve her country with all her sincerity and dedication , against internal and external aggression , even to the peril of her life and was granted The President of India’s commission in the Indian Army. A year later , Major Sushil Chikkara took the same oath of dedicating himself to the service of his country . As luck would have it , they met each other a few yrs later and  got married serendipitously  .  Life seemed perfect for the newly married couple and they wouldn’t have imagined even in their worst nightmares that both of them would be fighting the system by writing to the highest authority and office in the country, as a last resort to demand justice not only by virtue of being loyal servants of the Union of India, but more importantly as ordinary citizens of the country.

HAPPIER TIMES!

COMMANDO

PROUD FAMILY MEMBERS WITH SUSHIL

          Is there no one to protect the nation’s protectors?   Major Sushil joined the Indian Army before he could even vote or apply for a driver’s license .Being a sportsman par excellence ( setting multiple records in basketball, athletics, cross-country during his training days in NDA & IMA), Army was the natural choice for the tall and athletic Jat teenager from Sonepat . He excelled in sports and all other fields in the Army and was immensely liked by his peers owing to his warmth , humility and cheerful disposition. He has been serving in the Army for over 10 yrs now (including voluntary tenures at Siachen glacier and NSG) and gets to visit his home about 2-3 times in a year.

          But on 12 May , his entire world came crashing down when he received the tragic news that his father and brother had been shot dead at point blank range by a guy named Ajay chikkara aka Kannu and his group of hoodlums from the same village owing to political rivalries.A double cold-blooded murder in broad daylight .The murderers were no amateurs, as they had committed a similar crime a couple of days back and had threatened Sushil’s family too before carrying out the dastardly act. I also want to bring to your notice that this murder didn’t happen out of the blue. They had threatened the deceased before carrying out the crime and the same was reported by Maj Chikkara to  SP,Sonepat but he took no pre-emptive action . This lackadaisical attitude of the police is partly responsible for the unbearable loss suffered by the family. Sushil is understandably shocked by the turn of events. And since this is not a soldier’s battlefield (the border ) , he is relying on the police authorities concerned to nab the miscreants and deliver swift justice . They are on the run since committing the heinous crime  and yet to be located by the police , a week  after the crime!

          While Maj Sushil is trying his best to be a pillar of strength for his family , even though he’s himself devastated , Capt Rashika been running from pillar to post knocking every known door in the hope of finding justice. During the last five days, they’ve approached  CM ,Haryana , the aforementioned SP , Sonepat and various other officials without resulting in any fruitful action. Life has come to a full stop for the family and become a daily routine of trying everything within their power to find a way to knock the police authorities out of their idyllic mindset and show some concrete results. Soldiers are trained to fight on the battlefield and the civvy street isn’t teir domain. But tell me, will any soldier be able to do justice to his duty if he isn’t sure that his kith and kin back home will be taken care of by the system.

          If our Police force is so defunct that they can’t nab an ordinary criminal even after five days, then I shudder to think what will happen if they are told to find trained terrorists. In the Army , we have a system of command and control , responsibility and accountability at every level. But seeing the police action moving at a snail’s pace in this case, I think , either there is no such system in the police, or they are least bothered about doing there job and only act when under pressure. I’m sure you would recall  how one of the state’s  police force did a brilliant operation to capture the wandering buffaloes of a politician in record time. How I wish they showed that urgency while trying to catch the murderers of a soldier’s father and brother.

           Physically tired, mentally exhausted and totally exasperated by this entire series of events ,the couple demandsthat the police and concerned authorities  take all necessary measures and go out of their way to nab the criminals . A soldier goes into battlefield leaving behind his family at home with the confidence that some law and order prevails back home to guard his loved ones . If he’s ready to give his all for the country , the least the civil administration can do to reciprocate his selfless service is ensure protection and justice to the ones he leaves behind.

“All soldiers who serve their country and put their lives at risk need to know that if something happens to them, their families will be well taken care of. “