TIRUPATI: The residence of Lance Naik B Sai Teja presented a picture of grief as his family members accepted the truth that he will never return home.
His two children, aged five and two, looked bewildered, even as their paternal uncle B Mahesh held them close to his chest on Thursday. Later the children, Mokshagna and Darshini, were seen playing in front of their house.
27-year-old Teja was among the 13 killed, including India's Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, in an IAF helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu's Coonoor on Wednesday. Villagers recalled how Teja had made it to the Army. Sheer grit and hard work had helped Teja realise his dream of joining the Indian Army, and getting commissioned into the elite 11 Para Special Force. He was the General's Special Protection Officer.
Born at Eguva Regada in Kurabalakota mandal of Chittoor district, Teja completed his SSC in the village and later graduated from a Tirupati college. He appeared for the Army recruitment drive in 2012 in Guntur and got selected as a driver. He later made the cut to the Special Force unit.
Teja's father Mohan recalled his son's glorious record. "He got promotions and joined as the SPO of General Bipin Rawat. We had advised him against taking up the assignment, but he ignored us," the older man, a farmer, said.
Family members recalled that Teja used to run at least 10kms daily to keep himself fit, whether he was in Delhi or in his village. "He was active in school cricket. Teja motivated his brother to join the Army," Mohan recalled.
Teja's mother Bhubaneswari was a former MPTC. He married Shyamala in 2016. "Officials have collected the blood samples of my parents for a DNA test. They informed me that the body would be sent probably tomorrow," Mahesh said.
Actor Manchu Vishnu said that his family would provide free eduction to Teja's children up to post-graduation in Vidyanikethan Educational Institutions.
Sai Teja was an expert in mixed martial arts, unarmed combat, and communications and electronic warfare, and had served in Arunachal Pradesh along the Sino-India border. The commando was also part of the Army's counter-terrorist operations in Manipur and Nagaland