A pall of gloom descended on the family of N. Sathish Shetty (26) at Halambadi village in K.R. Pet taluk in the district, one among the seven Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel who were killed after a group of militants attacked a CRPF camp in Bemina area of Srinagar in the Kashmir valley on Wednesday.
Sathish Shetty was the second son of Narayana Shetty, who passed away a few years ago, and Savithramma. His elder brother, Harish Shetty, is also in the Indian Army posted in Madhya Pradesh, sources close to the family told The Hindu here.
The news of Sathish Shetty’s death reached the district administration in the evening, according to Ahobalaiah, K.R. Pet Tahsildar.
Hailing from an economically poor family, Sathish Shetty joined the CRPF in 2007. Since then, he was posted in the Kashmir valley, according to Halambadi Nagaraj, a friend of the soldier. Though his family did not want him to join the armed forces [as it had sent his elder brother to defend the country], he, according to a family member, insisted that he too would follow in the footsteps of Harish Shetty.
A jolt
Sathish Shetty’s death has come as a jolt to his family. His mother, Savithramma, who lives with his grandmother in the village, could not withstand the bitter truth after the news was conveyed to her by officials from the district administration.
The inconsolable Savithramma said that she had been looking for a girl to get Sathish Shetty married for several months now.
“About two months ago he came to Halambadi Kavalu and spent some time with us. In the morning [today], he telephoned me from Jammu and Kashmir and told me to have my food on time,” Savithramma told presspersons.
She said that the family had planned to arrange his marriage this year.
“Sathish Shetty regularly deposited cash in his mother’s savings bank account and he had also planned to build a house in Halambadi Kavalu,” Vishwanatha, a classmate of his, said.
Last rites
“The body is expected to be flown to Bangalore on Thursday. It may reach Mandya by evening. We will make all arrangements for his last rites at his village. We have sent a team of officials to the village,” Mr. Ahobalaiah said.
“We will give him a guard of honour,” Borase Bhushan Gulab Rao, Mandya Superintendent of Police, said.
As soon as the news spread, a large number of people from villages around Halambadi Kavalu gathered in front of Sathish Shetty’s house.
