Dr A S Bhatia
asbhatiaprince@gmail.com
It was around 4:30 AM on the morning of 10th May 2025 when the stray dogs, although not the right nomenclature for these fox breeds, started barking madly and loudly, piercing through the ever-peaceful early morning of the Mehra campus, which is surrounded by the beautiful hills of Government Medical College Rajouri. I, being an early riser, was preparing a cup of lemon tea as usual and, while holding the cup, came out of my room onto the terrace just to look for the abnormal crying of these dogs, as the campus is home to about five hundred girls and boys, and at each and every moment we are concerned about their well-being and safety. I saw the dogs holding their heads towards the sky and making a mad noise. I looked upward. What I saw was a strange thing for me-the sky was covered with red fiery lines. I could hear the deafening sounds of explosions. As I was trying to understand the situation, my mobile phone started ringing. The call was from a staffer:
“Sir, shelling has started from across the border, they are targeting the civilian population of Rajouri.”
“Hanish!!! Come out!” I shouted loudly to my driver, who was sleeping in the adjoining room. And I rushed towards my room.
‘Harleen calling’-the screen of my phone started blinking. I picked up the call.
“Jeet, shelling has started. Where are you?” was the simple query from my wife.
“Me, in the campus,” was my two-word reply in the environment of fear and uncertainty.
“You should have been in the hospital at this time.” The voice was calm, bold, and fearless.
By that time, I was wearing my red-colored T-shirt over my black trousers, and while putting on my slippers, I told Hanish to take out the car. He stared at me; by this time, he had understood the gravity of the situation. The enemies across the border had started arbitrary firing, including artillery shelling. I smiled, “Yes, we will drive to the hospital.”
The Associated Hospital GMC Rajouri is about ten kilometers from our campus. In no time we were driving down the hills towards Rajouri town amidst the darkness of the surrounding mountains, which were looking very dreadful on that early morning. While driving, Hanish pointed towards the sky through the windscreen and screamed,
“Sir, look!!”
I bent my neck slightly downwards in order to have a look at the sky from the front seat of the car.
“Yes, these are drones, but these are very high, heading towards Jammu. Don’t panic and look sideways whether one is coming towards us also!!” I replied jokingly in a loud voice as the entire area was witnessing the terrific sounds of firing and blasts.
He looked towards me with very strange expressions on his face and pressed the accelerator in an attempt to get far away from the reach of falling shells. By this time, the entire administration of Rajouri had swung into full action. The electricity supply of the entire town was snapped off, and an undeclared blackout was imposed to protect the residents of Rajouri town. We also switched off the headlights of our car, but it became very difficult to drive down the hills of Mehra campus as the Moon was also hiding somewhere at that time, and the entire area got engulfed in dead darkness. We had to stop our car on a sharp turn as the edge of the road was not visible. I came out of the car. Shelling was continuously going on, and we could sense the shells falling on the civilian population, violating all norms of the Geneva Conference.
I decided to drive the car while using parking lights and started our seemingly unending journey towards the hospital, with occasional bright flickering lights falling on the hilly road from the shells in the surrounding areas.
“GOD BE WITH YOU”-a message got displayed on the screen of my phone. It was from the Administrative Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, who was constantly in touch with me since 4:45 AM and was enquiring about the current situation and the safety of the staff. It was a pleasant experience when your administrators are with you in difficult times and you feel more motivated.
We were crossing the airfield Rajouri just then when a shell fell about 100 metres behind us on a two-storey small house. We had to stop our car and bow down with our forehead, nose, both hands, knees, and all toes touching the car seat mattress. The very next moment, a shell fell on a parked car about 200 metres in front of us, and there was a loud explosion. It was a terrible sight. The entire area was engulfed in dust and smoke. The windowpanes were broken, and splinters breached the sides of the car and sprayed both outside and inside the parked vehicle. After a halt of a few minutes, we again decided to move towards the hospital in a state of shock and bewilderment.
“Sir, Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) Rajouri Dr. Raj Kumar Thappa is injured in the shelling,” a call from the office of the District Development Commissioner said.
That was shocking for me, as just a day before, both of us had attended the review meeting chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister in the DAK Bungalow Rajouri. More heart-wrenching was the fact that I had invited Dr. Raj Kumar Thappa, a close friend of mine and a long-time associate from Government Medical College Jammu, for dinner and had requested him to stay with me for the night. But fate had something else in store. I had called the ADC during the evening and enquired at what time he would come.
“Sir, I am too busy and also have to finish some of my important official assignments. Let us postpone it for tomorrow.”
I was not agreeing and said I am sending my driver to pick him up. “Please do come, Dr. Thappa!” I pleaded.
But the spirit of duty was so high in Dr. Raj Kumar Thappa that he politely refused and said he had to do some urgent official work during the night. I was now left with no choice but to accept his arguments.
I was filled with some unexplainable fear on hearing this news and pressed my foot on the accelerator.
I reached the emergency of the hospital, and by that time the ambulance carrying the injured ADC had arrived, and he was being shifted to the resuscitation room. I ran after him, laid him on the resuscitation table, but by that time we had lost a brilliant officer. A Pakistani shell had landed on his official residence in DC Colony, Rajouri town, and the flying splinters pierced into his abdomen and chest. He sustained multiple grievous injuries and lost his life while being shifted to the hospital. Dr. Raj Kumar Thappa laid down his life in the line of duty and made the supreme sacrifice for the cause of the Nation. I was totally shattered and sat down on the floor with trembling legs. By this time, the entire district administration had reached the hospital, defying the continuous shelling. I could see the tears rolling down the eyes of the District Development Commissioner, Rajouri.
Saheedo ki Chitaao par lagega har baras mela
Watan par mitne walon ka yahi nishaan hoga
(The author is Principal Government Medical College Rajouri)
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