RAIPUR: The Ranas of Bastar couldn’t believe the news flash: on the list of those killed in the Maoist IED blast in Bijapur was one “Tuleshwar Rana, driver”. Was it their Tuleshwar? And then the dreaded phone call came.
Tuleshwar’s parents had no clue that he was ferrying policemen in his Scorpio. All they knew was that the 25-year-old drove for National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) officials.
Tuleshwar was killed along with eight policemen in a Maoist blast in Kutru area of Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, on Monday afternoon.
“Last we knew he was driving vehicles for NMDC officials. He visited home in Dec last year and spoke to his mother only on Monday morning,” his father, Kamal Sai Rana, said. Little did she know she was speaking to him for the last time.
“I got a call from an unknown number that my son had been ‘martyred’ and I should come to Bijapur. For a few minutes, I felt numb,” he told mediapersons. He kept hoping it was a “wrong number call”, but then the horrifying details emerged.
Many youngsters in Bastar district work as drivers, mostly on daily wages. They often ferry police and security personnel, VIPs and officials all around Bastar.
Tuleshwar was doing just that. He had picked up an SUV-load of jawans in Jagdalpur on Friday morning and dropped them off somewhere near Abujhmarh. On Monday, he was returning with another squad of jawans after the operation. They were headed for Dantewada, via Bijapur.
Tuleshwar’s SUV was seventh in an eight-vehicle convoy, and it took the full impact of a 70kg IED, the driver’s side of the vehicle being hit the worst.
His body was blown to pieces, making it impossible for police to retrieve, or even identify. Initially police felt the driver was missing, but then found signs of him.
A native of Arapur in Kodenar region, around 130km from where he died, Tuleshwar was the youngest of five siblings. His last rites were performed on Tuesday.
