Shamatapathar, Jan. 11: The 6.7 magnitude earthquake at Tamenglong, Manipur, on January 4 is tragic for many, but, ironically, for the mother of Vinod Phangsu, who was killed yesterday by suspected car-lifters near the Assam-Nagaland border in Borpathar of Golaghat district, it was her last chance to see her son.
On January 5, the day after the earthquake, Phangsu took permission from Borpathar police station, where he was the officer-in-charge, to go and inspect the under-construction building in his home, where the ceiling work was completed just two days before the tremor.
"If there was no earthquake, my son would not have come here. He was planning to come home for Bihu, but after the earthquake he immediately took leave to see what damage it had caused to the ceiling. He was not home for almost five months and thanks to the earthquake, at least I saw him for the last time," said Phangsu's mother, Rajani Taro.
A pall of gloom descended upon Phangsu's residence at Shamatapathar, around 40km from Guwahati, where almost all the villagers came to pay their respects to the police officer from their village who lost his life in the line of duty.
Phangsu was the eldest among sexagenarian Rajani's three sons. "He was very responsible about his job. My younger son is also in the police, but he (Phangsu) hardly ever got leave to visit us. I used to tell him that his problem is he is very serious about his job. Now what will happen to his wife and daughter?" Rajani asked.
Phangsu is survived by his wife Malaya Bungrung and seven-month-old daughter Manvi. "Everytime he called he used to ask to put his daughter on the line. But, he got to see her only three times," Malaya said, breaking down.
Both Rajani and Malaya, according to their family members, have stopped eating and are surviving on saline.
Phangsu, who was known as a man of few words, earned respect from his seniors, villagers and colleagues for his sense of duty and efficieny. He passed out from Cotton College in 2003 with honours in English, but stayed unemployed till 2006.
"He was unemployed but not jobless. Even when he was studying in Kendriya Vidyalaya, he used to first go to our father's radio repair shop in Sonapur, clean it and then go to school. After graduation, he opened a public phone booth here. Later when our youngest brother Kanak came of age to earn, he handed over his shop to him and opened a tea stall. He used to train all the time for the police job as he aspired to be an IPS officer," Phangsu brother Mantu said. However, in the village, Phangsu was more popular as "Good Friday".
"He was born on March 25 which is Good Friday. And since his nature was very good, we used to call him Good Friday," said Phangsu's neighbour Purnim Das.
He joined the police in 2006 and was responsible for nabbing insurgents, coal and wood smugglers and car-lifters. In fact, the present superintendent of Golaghat, P.P. Singh, transferred him to those places where he himself got transferred.
"He is one of the most efficient, dedicated and dependable police personnel I have ever met and it was very reassuring to have him beside me. He alone arrested several Maoists, coal and wood smugglers and car-lifters. He has been presented the gallantry award for bravery by the President twice. He received an award from the chief minister and the Antarik Suraksha award too," Singh said.
According to Phangsu's family members, he was posted in the Goalpara SP office where Singh was the SP. "Since then, he was transferred to Tinsukia, Barpeta and Golaghat district along with Singh," Mantu said.
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi today announced a compensation of Rs 20 lakh for Phangsu's kin and said the government will confer the chief minister's bravery award posthumously to him.
