IAS-IPS couple to take care of martyr daughter

An IAS-IPS couple in Himachal Pradesh has displayed an extraordinary character by deciding to ‘adopt’ the younger daughter of martyr Paramjeet Singh who was beheaded by Pakistani soldiers in Poonch sector in J&K this week.

The couple has pledged to bear all expenses of the martyr’s 11-year old daughter Khushdeep Kaur from schooling to marriage. 2010 batch HP cadre IAS office Yunus Khan is posted as Deputy Commissioner Kullu while his wife Anjum Ara, a 2011 batch IPS officer, is posted as Superintendent of Police (SP) at Solan in HP.

The couple has a four-year old son and feels their family will be complete with a daughter with them. They have already pursued their desire to adopt the girl with the widow of the martyr. Anjum and Yunus will be visiting the family of the martyr in Taran Taran district of Punjab in a day or two. Yunus said by providing good education to the daughter, they were only doing their duty as responsible citizens.

The couple says their gesture is a salute to the brave Indian soldier. Khushdeep, a student of class VII, will be staying with at her house in Punjab. The daughter will be free to pursue education in any school in case she want’s a change from the village school. Ara said her husband was deeply moved after reading about the tragic death of the soldier and the families utter grief. She said,  "Yunus suggested to adopt the girl child which she readily agreed."

Naib subedar Paramjeet Singh’s younger brother, Ranjit Singh, said he does not have words to express gratitude to the large hearted couple. “It reminds me of the extraordinary act the ruler of Malerkotla, Nawab Sher Mohammad Khan, had done for the youngest sahibzadas (sons) of Guru Gobind Singh Ji,” he said. Yunus, who has faced attempts on his life at least three times in the call of duty as a bureaucrat taking on sand mining mafia, was born in Malerkotla in Punjab. The couple continues to receive tremendous applause for their gesture.