Patna:
It was in prayer that she sought refuge while her son was missing; and when he returned home eight days later, unharmed by his captors, it was to a temple that she took him first. The ardent thanks offered by Trainee Sub-Inspector Rupesh Kumar Sinha merged with the priest's chants. "I used to die every moment when I was held captive. I was worried about my family as they would have been devastated had I died," said Sinha. (
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He was kidnapped last Sunday along with three colleagues by the Naxals in Bihar's Lakhisarai district, 150 kilometres east of Patna. Late last week, Havaldar Lukas Tete was killed. A note found near Tete's body warned that if the government didn't release eight Naxal leaders from jail, the other three police hostages would also die.
The discovery of Tete's body had twisted implications for the family of Sub Inspector Abhay Yadav. On Thursday, a spokesperson for the Naxals called TV channels to state Sinha had been killed. On Friday morning, the body found was identified as Tete's. In Yadav's house, as his wife gave him a traditional welcome which included washing his feet, gratitude skirmished with the sorrow over another man's life lost, a colleague's family destroyed.
Surrounded by his young children, Yadav recounts, "They did not harm us, they used to give us food to eat. We were taken care of properly."
Havaldar Ehsaan Khan was brought to Patna on his way to reunite with his wife and children in Ranchi. He says his experience has strengthened his resolve. "I will continue to serve the police ... and fight the Naxals."
In Ranchi, his wife says their Eid will be a quiet one. "Allah has given me Eid even before Eid," she says.