Lucas Tete, the Havildar of the Bihar Military Police who was killed by the Maoists in the Lakhisarai hostage crisis, was very punctual and loved his Titan wrist watch and wallet.
Last month, Tete had come home to hoist the tricolour at the government school at Pordatoli on August 15.
“He was conscious of the importance of time. So much so that he unfurled the national flag at 9 am sharp,” said Punit, Tete’s uncle.
“The wallet with some cash he always carried with himself was missing today,” said his wife Pyari, 50, as a section of the Jharkhand Police bid adieu to Tete at his native Pordatoli village in Simdega district on Saturday.
Pyari and her three daughters — Anjula, Neelum and Manjula in the age group of 11 and 16 years — had rushed to Patna on hearing from the Bihar Police about the hostage crisis. Soon after they met Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and asked him to get them freed, they heard that Tete was no more.