Ten security personnel – all from District Reserve Guards (DRG) – and a civilian driver were killed in an IED blast in the Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday, 26 April.
(Photo: Vishnukant Tiwari/The Quint)
"He left home on Tuesday [25 April] at 6 pm. He said he will return home in sometime, but he never came back," said an inconsolable Mangaldai Yadav, wife of Dhaniram Yadav, the civilian driver who was killed in the Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada on Wednesday, 26 April.
Dhaniram – who has three siblings – was a private vehicle driver. The 36-year-old took regular jobs with the police and security forces to ferry soldiers to and from the forests.
Apart from Dhaniram, 10 security personnel – all from the District Reserve Guards (DRG) – were killed in the improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Dantewada.
On Tuesday evening, his wife recounted that Dhaniram got a call for a similar job.
Speaking to The Quint, Mangaldai recounted:
Dhaniram was the sole breadwinner of his family of four. He earned Rs 7,000-8,000 a month as a driver.
Dhaniram's younger brother Kaniram told The Quint that he was a jolly man who cared a lot about his family.
Dhaniram is survived by daughter Basanti, son Shivam Yadav, and wife Mangaldai. Basanti is a student of Class 11, while Shivam is studying in Class 7.
Dhaniram is survived by daughter Basanti, son Shivam Yadav, and wife Mangaldai.
Kaniram said, "Shivam doesn't fully understand what has happened, but Basanti hasn't stopped crying since she learnt of her father's demise."
Dhaniram and his family were like any other family – with parents striving to ensure good education and life for their children. Dhaniram also wanted the same for his kids. He wanted his daughter Basanti to become a doctor or a nurse.
Mangaldai said that it would be an uphill task to educate her children and provide them with a good life in the absence of Dhaniram.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)