THE GARUD STRIKES (13 page)

In all the confusion and scramble, they had no time to worry
about the dead or send out search parties to look for those missing.

Amongst those captured by the Pakistanis at Kodda was Guardsman
Jameel Mohammed of Alpha Company. No Indian soldier
captured by the Pakistanis had it easy. The wounded received no
medical aid. Many were mutilated and brutalized before they were
killed. And if the bodies of the soldiers of 10 Bihar found later by
Paunchy at Brahmanbaria were any indication, the dead received no
burial or cremation. However, for Guardsman Jameel Mohammed,
life proved exceptionally hard when he fell into the enemy hands.

When the Pakistanis found out that he was a Muslim, they
tortured him brutally for supporting the
kafir
(infidel) Indians
against them.

Of the seven guardsmen of Alpha Company captured at Kodda,
Jameel was selected for special treatment and beaten up really badly.

‘The one inadvertent fallout of his capture was that whilst
interrogating him, the Pakistanis learnt that 4 Guards (1 Rajput)
was part of the Indian attacking forces,’ Glucose interjected.
‘General Niazi, the Pakistani Eastern Army Commander, had
earlier served in the ranks in 1 Rajput. When he learnt about our unit, he asked for all captured guardsmen to be taken to Dacca for interrogation. That perhaps was the only reason that some of our men did not meet the usual fate of any Indian soldier taken prisoner by the Pakistanis—a bullet in the head.’

By now, the condition of several of the casualties was deteriorating fast and the unit medics were constantly in action, more often than not treating the wounded under artillery fire. The RMO, Captain (Dr.) H.P. Sutradhar, who incidentally had graduated from the Dacca Medical College, was a harried man.

‘We had barely travelled a couple of miles when Sutra told me that he had lost his carbine,’ Glucose gave a grim laugh. ‘The poor guy had been so busy rushing from one casualty to the other that he had no idea where or when he dropped it. Not that I could imagine him firing a shot even in anger.’

Sutra tasked Lance Naik Bhanwar Singh as an escort to the stretcher parties being used to ferry the wounded. Returning alone from one such excursion, Bhanwar Singh was midway between Kodda and Barisal when three Pakistani Razakars jumped at him; the trio had an LMG and three rifles.

Bhanwar knew he did not have too many options. He would either die right there, or it would be a slow lingering death as a Pakistani prisoner. With a ferocious cry, he boldly charged the enemy. So taken aback were the trio that they surrendered. Bhanwar Singh returned triumphantly to the battalion HQ with his three prisoners.

Tension remained high in Alpha Company in anticipation of a second strike. However, luckily the Pakistanis failed to press home their advantage.

Perhaps they too were caught up in the fog of battle and their commanders did not read the situation properly. Or perhaps they noted the arrival of reinforcements as Delta Company rushed in and co-deployed with Alpha. However, they certainly kept up the pressure on the guardsmen with small arms, artillery and tank fire.

The Akhaura strongpoint was heavily fortified and well stocked. Well enough to enable the Pakistanis to wage war for weeks. And the Indians did not have much time. Everyone was aware that it would not be long before the community of nations intervened and forced the guns to go silent. The Americans and the Chinese had already started raising the issue in several forums. It was possibly Russia’s stand that held them at bay. But it was evident that it would not last for too long.

Charlie Company commanded by Tuffy Marwah, moving with the battalion HQ, found its way to the designated objective, Barisal, with relative ease. That is to say if one discounts the tedious, night-long trek through mud and slush, and, of course, the enemy guns that kept them engaged and amused through the night.

Within minutes of the fog lifting, the Pakistani artillery and armour ensured Charlie Company had to dig in and keep their heads down.

Realizing that most of the artillery fire that was making life difficult for his men was coming from one particular gun position, Himmeth tasked Tuffy to raid the gun position.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on the point of view one takes, by the time Tuffy’s raiding party hit the gun position, the Pakistanis had pulled back their guns to an alternate position.

Meanwhile, back at the battalion HQ, another drama was unfolding. Naik Jai Singh, who was serving with the unit’s Intelligence Section, learnt that Subedar Rawat, the senior JCO of
Bravo
Company, had been wounded. He, however, could not be evacuated due to heavy enemy fire.

Honorary Captain Jai Singh

‘Subedar Rawat was also from Alwar, my hometown,’ said Jai Singh, who eventually retired as an Honorary Captain. ‘I had already lost one of the boys from my village the previous day, and wasn’t going to allow something to happen to Rawat. So I told Commandant sahib that I was going to Bravo Company to bring him back.’

It was only when night fell that Himmeth finally relented and allowed an obstinate Jai Singh to go. Under cover of darkness, Jai Singh, with another guardsman, stealthily made his way into Bravo Company location. Braving their way through intense fire, the duo finally arrived.

‘I found Subedar Rawat lying under a wooden bed in a tin hut,’ Jai Singh narrated. ‘He was very badly injured but tried to shoot me with his sten gun when I crept into the darkened hut. Luckily, I called out to him in time and recognizing my voice, he did not fire.’

To get his bearings, Jai Singh lit a match. That immediately drew the wounded JCO’s ire. Rawat shouted at him to put out the light, warning him that any light would immediately draw fire since the Pakistani gunners were dominating every inch of the Bravo Company position.

Examining his wounds, Jai Singh realized he was injured far more seriously that he had assumed, and needed to be evacuated immediately. Giving him a shot of morphine, Jai Singh first bandaged his wounds with field dressings. Then he even gave him a cup of black tea, since all the sugar and condensed milk they had carried had already been spoilt by the mud and slush. Finally, sedated by the morphine and now a lot more comfortable, Jai Singh took Subedar Rawat on his shoulder and carried him back to the battalion headquarters; which was three kilometres away, and almost every bit of it was blanketed by enemy fire.

Himmeth saw Jai Singh coming in with the wounded JCO, who was immediately treated by the doctor and then evacuated back to the ADS.

‘Commandant sahib was very happy with me,’ the now wizened Jai Singh said simply. ‘But more than anything, I was thrilled that Subedar Rawat made it through the war. After retirement, we would meet very often, and he would tell his family how I had carried him back.’

I did not notice any pride in the man before me. But seeing him and hearing his story, it was not hard for me to understand how tough it would have been for the Pakistanis to hold on their own against men such as him.