Pathankot attack: ‘I’m on operation’ were Lt. Colonel Niranjan Kumar’s last words to father

Bengaluru: “Dad! I am on an operation,” were the last words of Lt. Colonel Niranjan Kumar to his father Shivarajan E.K., who called his 35-year-old son on Saturday afternoon.

Shivarajan was anxiously waiting for his son to return the call, hoping that the operations would get over soon. But, he was left heart broken when the news of his son’s death reached him on Sunday morning.

“I was not aware that my son was in the operation fighting terrorists. I called him on Saturday to discuss a few things related to the family when he just said - ‘Dad! I am on an operation’,” said Mr Shivarajan, proud father of Lt. Col. Kumar.

Lt. Colonel Niranjan Kumar, a member of the National Security Guard’s (NSG) Bomb Disposal Squad, was killed while he was trying to defuse a live grenade from the body of a dead terrorist at the Pathankot airbase.

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The younger brother of the martyr, Shashank, told this newspaper, “It was one of my brother’s colleagues, who learnt about Niranjan’s injuries and called my father late on Saturday and asked for the number of my eldest brother Sharath Chandra, who is currently posted in New Delhi as Squadron Leader with the IAF.” Shashank said, “He informed Sharath about Niranjan being killed in the line of duty.

Sharath immediately rushed to Pathankot and broke the news to us around 10.30 am on Sunday.”

The mortal remains of the slain Lt. Col. were brought to his Bengaluru home early on Monday. The body will be kept for the public to pay their last respects and from their it will be taken to the family’s ancestral home in Palakkad, Kerala, on Monday for the last rites.

Lt. Col. Kumar’s parents moved to Bengaluru 38 years ago. He is survived by his wife Dr Radhika and a one-and-a half-year-old daughter Vismaya. He was recently promoted to Lt. Colonel and was posted as NSG Commando in New Delhi.