The journey started by an 18-year-old boy from Bankura, 37 years back, was one that often put his life in peril and kept him far from his home but could not deter him from keeping the homes of his countrymen, safe.

On 75th Independence Day, Sub-Inspector Phatik Chandra of 184 CRPF Battalion made his family and Bengal proud as the Ministry of Home Affairs decided to reward him with a President’s Police Medal. Chandra told The Statesman that his wish to join a defence force grew at an age when he was oblivious of the distinctions among Army, BSF or CRPF.

“It all looked the same to me but the uniforms always instilled confidence and a sense of respect,” he said. The jawan had myriad postings throughout India for about 26 years before finally coming back to Bengal. Chandra believes his luck has favoured him at times when danger stood a few metres away.

Recalling one such incident, he said, “In 1992, during my positing in Manipur, I was in a convoy with other CRPF jawans and behind us was a vehicle carrying Border Security Forces personnel. All of a sudden Manipuri insurgents attacked our vehicles. The BSF car was bombed but ours escaped. Eight BSF personnel lost their lives,” said Chandra.

After a brief pause, he added, “Death was just inches away from me”. In 1986 in the Indo-Pak border area in Punjab, the CRPF jawan was on one side of a canal, on the downward side of a slope, when he spotted “terrorists” on the other side, scouring the area.

Chandra had the option of firing his rifle but he had to take a fast and wise decision since his other teammates too were on the opposite side of the canal, looking for the enemy. “One mistake and lives of my fellowmen would have fallen victim to the guns of the enemy,” he said but refused to share the details of what happened next since the information is classified. “Lives were not lost” he clarified.

To his colleagues, Chandra is one of the best athletes and who even at this age has kept himself fit which Chandra however attributes to his CRPF training. On Independence Day, he learnt that MHA has selected him for the President’s Police Medal for meritorious service.