DIG Sanjeev Ranjan Ojha rescued 60 government officials held hostage by militants in Srinagar after a hand-to-hand combat
DIG Sanjeev Ranjan Ojha rescued 60 government officials held hostage by militants in Srinagar after a hand-to-hand combat
Not many of us can, but Himachal Pradesh IPS officer Sanjeev Ranjan Ojha called it quits when life became too comfortable.
Ojha, a recipient of the President Police Medal for Gallantry (PPMG), is among the few police officials who joined the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) to fight a real battle. And, he did, by rescuing government officials held hostage by Lashkar-e-Toiba militants.
"Himachal Pradesh is a peaceful state and there is not much scope for policing. I joined CRPF in July 2004 on deputation and since then there has not been a single dull day in my life," said Ojha.
The cop was posted in the militancy-infested areas of Jammu and Kashmir right after a two-month orientation programme with CRPF. And within a year, he was in the midst of action, just the way he wanted to.
ActionOn February 24, 2005, two Lashkar-e-Toiba militants stormed into a government office located in central Srinagar and took a number of government officials hostage. This was the period when militants had adopted a new tactic to target government offices and burn important documents besides killing officials.
"They targeted the deputy commissioner's office where important land records were stored. Senior state government officials informed us there were no duplicates of the documents. Our mission was to kill the militants, rescue the hostages and assure the records were intact," said Ojha.
Militants had attacked during the late afternoon to gain advantage of the darkness that would follow soon and Deputy Inspector General Ojha guessed their ploy. He knew the mission had to be completed before sunset and he drew up a battle plan. After cordoning off the area and blocking all exit routes, he sent a couple of CRPF men in a Mobile Morcha formation (a kind of movable cover against bullets and grenades fired by the militants).
Meanwhile, another group of men confined the militants to one big room by lobbing smoke shells at them.
"There were 50 to 60 hostages in the building and we kept rescuing them one by one. While a knee-jerk action could have led to the death of innocent people, we had to finish the operation before sunset," said Ojha.
Meanwhile, hostages started ringing up their families and friends and a crowd gathered outside the building.
Once the hostages were rescued, the CRPF men engaged the militants in hand-to-hand combat. Soon the militant attack turned out to be one of the shortest and most successful anti-terrorist drills carried out by the security forces. "There was almost no collateral damage and all the hostages were safe. But four security personnel died while two others were seriously injured," said Ojha.
Dreams and goals
A native of Dhanbad district in Jharkhand, Ojha never dreamt of becoming a police officer.
"My father wanted me to join the Civil Services but more importantly, he taught me to do everything with dedication," said the police officer.
