Megh Bahadur Gurung, a constable with the Bihar Military Police (BMP)'s Gorkha battalion, could not control his emotions and broke down before the commandant of the elite force ahead of his departure for home in Nepal on Monday.
Deployed at chief minister Nitish Kumar's official residence at 7 Circular Road in Patna, Gurung became restless after learning his mother was "serious". His house collapsed in the earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday. His mother, aged about 48 years, suffered serious injuries in the incident.
A resident of Nepal's Tenhu district, Gurung went to the commandant of the BMP's Gorkha battalion, Nishant Kumar Tiwary, in Patna on Monday for leave. Within no time, the commandant granted him leave and asked him to wait for the bus that would leave from Patna for Raxaul near India-Nepal border in the evening.
"I received a phone call from my relative in Nepal around 11am on Monday when I was on duty at the chief minister's residence. The caller asked me to leave for my native place immediately as my mother was very serious. I immediately decided to leave for my hometown, around 150km from Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal," he told The Telegraph.
Gurung is among the 59 and odd Gorkha battalion personnel, who have been passing sleepless nights ever since the earthquake in Nepal.
"I have been trying for the past three days to contact my mother at Pokhra in Nepal but in vain," said another constable Bhim Bahadur Gurung.
He said he had approached the commandant for leave because he wanted to visit his ancestral house at Pokhra, the epicentre of Saturday's earthquake in Nepal. He has learnt that over 1,000 people were killed and 90 per cent houses collapsed in Pokhra. "My mother stays there alone. I am concerned about her well-being," he added.
Similarly, Ashit Singh Vishwakarma and Ganga Thapa, both constables, approached the commandant for leave. While Ganga is worried about her in-laws living in Kathmandu, Ashit is concerned about his wife and two minor children.
A visibly upset Vishwakarma said his wife Priyanka and two children - Aista and another nine-month old baby - lived in Kathmandu. "I have not been able to reach my family even after three days of the tragedy," he lamented.
Commandant Tiwary said he had arranged a special bus to drop the personnel of Nepalese origin at the Raxaul border in East Champaran district, around 200km north of Patna. They would later leave for their respective places in Nepal from Raxaul, he said.
The officer said the personnel of the Gorkha battalion were deployed at the residences of the VVIPs, including the governor, chief minister and the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court. "They are known for their bravery and valour. They are dutiful and disciplined as well," Tiwary said.
The special bus carrying the jawans left for Raxaul in the evening. Their colleagues wished them "good luck".
