Published on August 7, 2022
Friendship Day
Ahmedabad: For Kalpesh Dhaduk, currently posted as inspector of LCB (Surat rural), well-being of Om, the son of his friend Kamlesh Parmar, is as important as his own family members. “He cleared Class 12 this year with good marks and wishes to pursue IT. We are searching for a good course,” says Dhaduk, a passionate guardian.
Parmar was his batchmate at Gujarat Police Academy in Karai in the 2010 batch of police sub-inspectors and succumbed to injuries in a road accident near Morbi in June 2016. Parmar’s infant son also died in the accident.
“Parmar was not just a batchmate or a friend, he was like my brother. After his demise, we friends raised funds and created a fixed deposit so that the family can fall back on some funds. But it’s not the end. We remain with the family through thick and thin – one of us remains present with the family in both good and bad times. I also call up Parmar’s father regularly to know the family’s well-being,” says Dhaduk.
As the first Sunday of August is celebrated as Friendship Day in India, here’s a tale that shows men in khaki in a different hue – the batch of 680 sub-inspectors, the biggest batch of PSIs to pass out in Gujarat Police, has stood strong with their friends who are not there anymore.
It started with the death of Arjunsinh Vala, who died in an operation trying to stop a liquor-laden vehicle near Shamlaji check post in April 2015,” recounts Aniruddhsinh Gohil, an inspector currently posted at GPA Karai. “It was a jolt for us all. We knew that the family is relatively well-to-do and doesn’t want our aid, but nonetheless as a mark of gratitude and affection, we raised funds.”
Vala’s kin got Rs 6 lakh from the state government due to his martyrdom and his village Rojka in Dhandhuka near Ahmedabad got a bust in his memory. “He still lives on in our hearts,” says RJ Chudasama, his batchmate and currently posted in Ahmedabad city as inspector
“He would guide us in ways of the police department and his jovial nature would reduce our pains of constant training at the academy,” recounts Chudasama. In March 2017, Mehul Maru, the third batchmate from 2010 ended his life and is survived by his wife and two daughters. The batch also helped his family.
Jaydip Vanar, a batchmate of the trio currently posted in state IB department, summarized the sense of brotherhood and friendship as a bond forged in fire. “Friendship is not something that ends with a friend – we’re doing nothing great, it’s our sense of gratitude towards the persons with whom we shared some our best and worst moments, who supported us through thick and thin, and who are with us in the form of their families and friends,” he said.
Parth Shastri Archive 