December 13, 2001. A group of five terrorists infiltrated the Parliament House in a car with Home Ministry and Parliament labels. Although the session of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned forty minutes before the attack, many officials, such as the Home Minister and Minister of State for Defence, were present inside the building.
Constable Kamlesh Kumari was deployed on duty in the Parliament House at Iron gate No. 1, from where Union Ministers, Members of Parliament and other dignitaries enter the Parliament House. Her job was to assist the watch and ward staff in checking visitors and frisking them.
A white ambassador car entered the premises. The labels on the car were enough to fool the guards into thinking of it as an official’s car. But that day, Kamlesh Kumari sensed something wasn’t right.
When the car passed the gate, instead of slowing down, it started accelerating. This anomaly was enough to make Kamlesh Kumari pursue the vehicle.
Without prioritizing her safety, Kamlesh Kumari started following the ambassador when she saw five heavily armed men leave the car and move towards the building.
Constable Kamlesh Kumari just had a walkie-talkie in hand. On the other hand, the terrorists carried AK-47 rifles, grenade launchers, pistols and grenades.
As soon as she noticed the terrorists, she raised the alarm and started screaming to alert other guards present in the building. Kamlesh Kumari ran towards Constable Sukhwinder Singh. She raised a call to the CRPF, but the call alarmed the terrorists too.
The terrorists fired at her without any mercy. Unshielded, she succumbed to her injuries.
Her body had received injuries from eleven bullets. She was the first casualty of the 2001 Parliament Attacks.
Her alarm alerted the guards, and they successfully captured the terrorists. Her quick actions and courage saved the lives of an innumerate number of people present on the premises.
She became the first policewoman to receive the Ashok Chakra posthumously.
What is terrible about terrorism is that it destroys those who carry it out. But in the process, the terrorists take so many people from us and scar our lives. It is the bravery of those lives given that we can continue with our own.
Twenty-one years ago, some unruly terrorists attacked our Parliament House. On account of that, KarmaPlay is conducting the Terrors of Terror Quiz. Join in and honour the bright lives taken away by terrorism.