Gambhir extends education support to children of slain CRPF soldiers

The 25 CRPF personnel were killed near the Burkapal camp in south Sukma while out on duty to provide protection for road construction on the Dornapal-Jagargunda belt. It was one of the deadliest attacks by Maoists in the past seven years.

“On Wednesday morning, I picked up newspapers and saw gut-wrenching pictures of the daughters of two CRPF men killed in the latest attacks. One was saluting her martyred father while in the other picture, the howling young woman was being consoled by her relative,” Gambhir wrote in his column in Hindustan Times.

The entire Kolkata Knight Riders team wore black armbands during Wednesday’s match against Rising Pune Supergiant as a mark of respect to the deceased CRPF men.

“The Gautam Gambhir Foundation will take care of the entire education expenses of the children of these martyrs. My team has already started work on this and I shall soon share the progress we have made,” he wrote.

Gambhir scored a match-winning half-century and shared in a century second-wicket partnership with Robin Uthappa but said the victory was a team effort.

“It is for the same reasons I love armed forces too, although the quantum of losing a dear one while serving the country can never ever be compared to losing a cricket match," he wrote.