BSF jawan Nitin Koli’s kin say he was to come home on leave

The incident had taken place on Friday evening when Koli was posted at a Forward Defence Location in Machil sector and was retaliating to the ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces. The explosion in the weapon led to a recoil, which caused a severe injury on Koli’s shoulder, a senior BSF officer from Srinagar told The Indian Express.

Koli hailed from a farmer family in Dudhgaon village in Miraj tehsil of Sangli district in Maharashtra. Nitin is survived by his parents Subhash and Suman, younger brother, wife Samapada and two sons Devraj (4) and Yuvraj (2).

The BSF officer added, “His mortal remains will be flown from Srinagar and will be taken to his native village by Sunday evening, after which the last rites will be performed with full honours.” After the recoil injured Koli around 6.30 in the evening, he was taken to a medical facility where he died during treatment around 12.45 am, on Saturday, the officer said.

Speaking over the phone from his native village, Nitin’s uncle Vishwas Koli said, “Nitin had come home around six months ago and was to come on leave again on November 5. We all were eagerly waiting for him. But his shocking news came instead. We don’t know how to console his parents, wife and children.”

Vishwas added, “Before he joined BSF in 2008, he worked as a manual labourer to pay for his education till Std 12 and also to financially support the family. Recently, he had helped his brother to buy a van so that he could start a small business. He had made us all proud when he joined the BSF. He had always been the elder responsible son of the family.”