Karnataka to give job to CRPF trooper’s widow

Bengaluru, Feb 15 (IANS) Karnataka will provide a job to the widow of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper H. Guru, who was among those killed in a suicide attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Thursday, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Friday.

"It is a heart-wrenching incident. The state government will provide a job to the widow (Kalavathi) of Guru who is from Mandya district in the state," Kumaraswamy told reporters.

In a tweet earlier, the Chief Minister said he spoke to Guru's family members over the telephone and consoled them.

"Their grief is heart-wrenching. We are with them. I have instructed officials to speed up the compensation process," Kumaraswamy tweeted.

Guru, 33, from Gudigere village in Mandya district, about 100 km from here, belonged to the 82nd Battalion of the CRPF and was posted in Srinagar.

Guru's family members, including Kalavathi, father Honnaiah, mother Chikka Thayamma and younger brothers Madhu and Anand were inconsolable over his sudden death in the terror attack on the bus in which he was travelling along with other troopers from Jammu to Srinagar.

According to his relatives, Guru was at home on leave last week and left for Jammu and Kashmir on February 11.

Guru joined the CRPF in 2011 and was deployed in Jharkhand as part of the 94th Battalion before being posted in Jammu and Kashmir.

"Though Guru's mother feared for his life and asked him to quit the job and settle down in the native village, he told her that he was committed to serve the country and not to worry about his welfare," a family member told the local media in Kannada.

BJP's state unit President B.S. Yeddyurappa, who also hails from Mandya district, said Guru's tragic death was painful.

"Guru, who dedicated his life to the nation at a young age, was a role model for the youth of the country. I pray for his soul to rest in peace and give strength to his bereaved family," Yeddyurappa tweeted in Kannada.

Former External Affairs Minister and senior BJP leader S.M. Krishna, who too hails from Mandya, condemned the savage terror attack on the CRPF convoy in which 45 troopers were killed.

"The imprint of Pakistan's ISI is visible in the cowardly attack, going by the target chosen and the modus operandi of the terrorists," Krishna said in a statement.

Regretting that the latest terror attack proved that Pakistan did not learn any lesson from India's September 2016 surgical strike across the LoC, Krishna said India's policy must be more muscular and lethal while dealing with the hostile neighbouring country.

"The surgical strike by the Indian Army Commandos ought to have made Pakistan realise the futility of fomenting trouble in Jammu and Kashmir. As it did not, it must be spoken to in the language it understands," said the former Karnataka Chief Minister.

Noting that Pakistan did not learn any lesson in spite of losing four wars against India in 1948, 1965, 1971 and 1999 (Kargil), Krishna said it would be naive to believe that one surgical strike will discipline Pakistan.

"Repeated military blows on Pakistan's strategic and commercial interests must be undertaken," said Krishna.

Condoling Guru's death, Krishna said the trooper laid down his life to the call of the motherland. "We are all proud of Guru's sacrifice. I assure his parents that their son's sacrifice will not go in vain. India will avenge this barbaric killing. I pay my condolence to them and will meet them soon," added Krishna.