Chhattisgarh: CRPF Battalion in Bastar remembers ‘Daredevil’ killed in Pulwama attack

RAIPUR: They called him Daredevil. In 2018, then posted in Maoist-hit Bijapur, CRPF trooper Vasantha Kumar VV had charged into an ambush zone alone after an IED blast to save an injured colleague.
All the Vs in his name stood for ‘Victor’, say his colleagues, mourning his loss in the Pulwama attack.
A Keralite, Vasantha was posted with 85 CRPF Battalion in Bijapur, fighting Maoists.He was part of a road-opening party one day in March when they were hit by an IED explosion. A CRPF trooper, Laxman Rao, took the brunt of it and lay injured, his legs nearly ripped off.
Maoists usually follow up an IED blast with a barrage of gunfire. While the rest of the CRPF team took cover, and prepared to retaliate, Vasantha Kumar leapt to the rescue.
“He was walking behind me when rebels triggered the blast. I was severely injured and bleeding profusely from both of my legs. I couldn’t move and was in excruciating pain. In such cases, jawans move with extra caution, suspecting that more IEDs are planted, but Vasantha Kumar acted boldly. Without caring for his life, he jumped towards me, and tied up the wound with his uniform in order to stop the bleeding. Otherwise I would have died,” Rao told TOI.
“It was a daredevil act,” recalls Sudhir Kumar, commandant of CRPF 85 Battalion in Bijapur. “In such a tense situation, Vasantha Kumar gave first-aid to Rao, lifted him and ran all the way to the road where an ambulance was waiting. Rao’s legs had to be amputated but his life was saved because Vasantha acted so fast and with such bravery.”
For his selfless act of courage, commandant Sudhir Kumar recommended Vasantha’s name for the DG Disc commendation, which is awarded by the director general of CRPF. “After that incident, Vasantha was fondly called daredevil of the battalion,” Kumar said.
After Vasantha’s tour of Bijapur, he was posted out in July to Bhadrachalam in Telangana. He was recently sent to Srinagar after being promoted as head constable.
“He was someone you would like to have next to you when under fire. He was an asset to the force,” said Kumar. Breaking down, Rao told TOI: “I am alive because of him.”