New Delhi, Feb. 19 -- Leave sanctioned at the proverbial nick of time saved 28-year-old Thaka Belkar from the jaws of death last Thursday at Pulwama in J&K. CRPF jawan Belkar, who is set to get married on February 24, had boarded the bus that was blown up by a suicide bomber, said his family, but disembarked minutes before it set off as news reached that leave had been granted. He lost 40 colleagues in the attack. Belkar reached home in Mhasoba Zap village in Ahmednagar's Parner taluka late on Sunday night, and is yet to come to terms with the reality, said his cousin Arun Belkar. "Since he got home, he hasn't spoken much. Just replies only in monosyllables."
The Maharashtra youth was part of the 2,500-odd CRPF jawans who were to travel to...