Remembering Warriors: A loving son who was all set to return on March 3

Bablu Santra, 39, West Bengal

The badminton court in front of the newly constructed house of 39-year-old Bablu Santra had been given a fresh coat of paint. The two storey building was to be painted when he returned on March 3. Just as life was beginning to appear smooth after a lot of struggle, the world came crashing down on them.

Bablu was one of the two martyrs from West Bengal who had been victim of Thursday's Pulwama blast. An official from CRPF control had called up his wife Mita Santra and told her about the loss.

"It was his grit and determination that he managed to achieve success in life. He was focussed in joining the forces so he kept himself fit with regular working out and volley ball playing sessions," said Bablu's brother Kalyan Santra who rued that the authorities should have taken more precautions if there was intelligence reports about a possible terror attack.

"In another eight months he was supposed to retire from CRPF and would have joined as a constable in West Bengal Police. He was a self-made man who spent most of the time with his family whenever he visited his native place. He had been here for about a month from mid-December last year and was scheduled to return in March 3," said a neighbour and friend Soumen Telai.

Bablu's mother, Bonomala Santra said whenever she got a call from him, he would be enquiring little details about the family. "Even yesterday when he called he asked if I had food on time, whether his daughter's school bus was on time and how was Kalyan and his family doing," she said.