GUWAHATI: Sanmuthi Basumatary felt proud when hundreds of people, including senior officials of the CRPF, police and civil administration, visited her house on Friday to pay homage to her slain husband Maneswar Basumatary.
He was among the 40 CRPF personnel killed in the terror attack at Pulwama on this day last year. To immortalise Maneswar, his family members decided to get a statue of him built in the backyard of their house in Assam’s Baksa district. It was unveiled by Rajya Sabha member Biswajit Daimary on Friday.
“It was the decision of my aunt and cousins to have the statue. They spent Rs 10 lakh to get it carved by sculptors Milan Mushahary and Anil Bodo,” Basumatary’s nephew Kamal Bodo told this newspaper.
“She (Sanmuthi) is sad that my uncle is no more. But at the same time, she feels proud as CRPF officials and others visit her house often and the villagers too talk about his gallantry,” Bodo said.
Within days after Basumatary’s martyrdom, his daughter Didwmshri was appointed as an assistant tourist information officer in Assam’s Tourism Department. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal himself had visited the house to give her the appointment letter. Basumatary’s only son is pursuing his studies in a college.
“She has no grievances as she has already received all financial benefits. She started getting her pension within two months of my uncle’s death. She had received a one-time ex-gratia of Rs 20 lakh from the government and another Rs 5 lakh from the BTC (autonomous Bodoland Territorial Council) administration,” Bodo added.