Chetan Kumar Cheetah, the CRPF soldier who was critically injured after being shot nine times during an encounter with three terrorists in Kashmir’ Bandipora on February 14, will soon be discharged. Hailing from Rajasthan’s Kota, Cheetah had the entire nation surprised with his exceptional tale of courage and survival.
The 45-year-old had suffered bilateral upper limbs fractures, bullet injuries in his head and lost his right eye during the bloody encounter that claimed lives of three Indian soldiers. Cheetah, a Commanding Officer of the 45th battalion, was first rushed to a military hospital in Srinagar , however, given the state of his injuries, he was airlifted from Srinagar to AIIMS Trauma Center in Delhi for further treatment.
Doctors at AIIMs describe his recovery as nothing short of a miracle. When Cheetah was brought to Delhi, his GCS score was M3, in other words, he was in deep coma due to severe brain injury. Now his score is M6. He is conscious and all vitals are stable, doctors said.
“We are planning to send Cheetah home on Wednesday,” Dr Amit Gupta, professor of trauma surgery and critical care at the centre, told Times of India.
However, Cheetah’s wife Uma Singh believes not only the medication but his husband’s penchant for fitness and his willpower also helped his recovery.”He is a very determined person and a fitness freak. I always knew he would recover,” she told the daily. She also said that his husband used to call him at a particular time but on the day of the encounter he didn’t, which made her sense something was wrong.
Cheetah was injured in an encounter between three suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists and a joint team of CRPF, army and Jammu and Kashmir Police on 14 February morning in Parraypora village, located in Bandipora district’s Hajin area.
