Armyman Ved Mitra Chaudhary bravely fought goons before being killed by goons who were teasing 21-year-old girl
On Monday afternoon, Vikas Kumar, brother-in-law of Ved Mitra Chaudhary, the armyman who was beaten to death when he tried to stop a group of six people from molesting a girl, hovered around the deceased's s rented accommodation in Meerut's Gokul Vihar.
As he was busy packing clothes and some documents which belonged to Chaudhary, Krishan Pal, the father of the girl who Chaudhary had defended from being molested, walked in on Kumar. On seeing Pal enter the room, Kumar started weeping incessantly prompting the 48-year-old father to fold his hands, as if to apologise about what had happened.
Chaudhary was posted as a Lance Naik with 416 Engineering Brigade in Meerut. "There used to be many thefts in the area and many criminals used to roam around but ever since Chaudhary came to stay here in June, not even a single robbery was reported. The younger ones would go to him to listen to stories and the elderly took pride in knowing him," said his landlord Atish Tomar who too is an ex-serviceman. Chaudhary became a memory for those who knew on August 13, when he went to a newly constructed dairy in Hardev Nagar to purchase milk.
Chaudhary's timing coincided with that of dairy owner Krishan Pal's 21-year-old daughter who had come to visit her father in Golabgarh where he stays with his two sons. Pal's two daughters are currently preparing for Indian Administrative Services exams and stay in a rented room in Shastri Nagar.
"My daughter came here for the first time on August 12 when she was noticed by the goons. We usually stay in Golabgarh but had come here for a night as our dairy is under construction. She was visiting and argued that she wanted to cook food for us before she leaves," Pal said.
When the girl came to the dairy on Thursday (August 13) evening the same group of people started teasing and tried touching her. This happened merely few feet away from her under construction dairy.
"The armyman saw this and calmly parked his motor-cycle. He walked over to the place of commotion and told the men to stop what they were doing. One of the boys slapped him and it was then that Chaudhary started beating at least three of them with his bare hands. I and my sons joined in and chased the men away," Pal told dna.
According to him, the attackers left only to arrive with a group of nearly 30 people five minutes later. "All of them didn't attack us but they served as a cushion for those who were actually hitting us," Pal said.
"He (Chaudhary) and my sons fought for around 25 minutes. He was tall and the attackers were trying to injure him on his head but failed to do so for a long time until one of them managed to him with an iron rod. Once he fell, my sons were overpowered too and it was then when they started throwing bricks and stones on them," Pal added. Chaudhary later succumbed in a local hospital while one of Pal's sons is undergoing treatment.
While Pal's family were lucky enough to see their loved ones safe at the end of the unfortunate day, Chaudhary's continued to be inconsolable. He is survived by his wife, a son (7) and a nine-year-old daughter.
"I am shattered. He was not only family but a dear friend too, I don't know what fate awaits my sister and her children who lost their father at such a tender age," said Kumar. He added that the family grieves, but they will one day feel proud about what Chaudhary had done.
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 "Ved Mitra Chaudhary")
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