BBMP officials to demolish portion of Pathankot martyr's Bengaluru home

Bengaluru: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been turning homes into rubble as part of its demolition drive to restore Bengaluru’s storm water drains and they will soon be razing a portion of Pathankot martyr Lieutenant Colonel Niranjan Kumar's home.

Niranjan Kumar was a member of the National Security Guard’s (NSG) Bomb Disposal Squad and was killed while trying to defuse a live grenade from the body of a dead terrorist at the Pathankot airbase in the January 2 attack.

Read: BMMP demolition drive: When homes turned to rubble

BBMP officials have marked for demolition one of the three pillars on which Kumar's house is standing and family and has requested authorities for more time.

"My wife and son have sought time for removing one of the three pillars on which the house is standing. My family is bit worried about the BBMP officials using JCB (earth mover) to pull down the structure as it may cause considerable damage to the house itself," Kumar's father Shivarajan said.

Several buildings, including new structures, were demolished during the BBMP drive last week following a high court order and directions from Chief Minster Siddaramaiah to clear encroachments on storm water drains that caused flooding of several areas in Bengaluru.

BBMP officials said that they cannot make an exception for Kumar’s family, which is one of the 1,100 homes that are still on the demolition list. Officials expressed their regret but said that ‘public good comes above private good’.

While Kumar’s ancestral home is in Palakkad, Kerala, his parents moved to Bengaluru 38 years ago.

He is survived by his wife Dr Radhika and a one-and-a half-year-old daughter Vismaya. He was promoted to Lt. Colonel and was posted as NSG Commando in New Delhi not very long before his death.