Karmela Devi, 40, sounded sad and anguished on Friday while talking about her late husband, CRPF head constable Vijay Soreng.

The 45-year-old was killed when a suicide bomber rammed his SUV into a CRPF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on February 14, 2019.

"We haven't any received any compensation till now," Karmela said. Revealing that the family was struck by a double whammy, she said, "Hum badi wali [wife] hain, ek chhoti wali [wife] bhi hai, unhonay bhi compensation manga hai."

The national tragedy, Pulwama terror attack, had received strong reactions nationwide. Karmela got married in 1990 and has a 24-year-old son. Her husband left her after her son was born. She joined Jharkhand police and is a havaldar in its Mahila Wing, a desperate move to earn a livelihood as her husband stopped supporting her and their son.

Though separated, Soreng never legally divorced her. His second wife Vimla Devi choked when she was asked to give details of her marriage to the soldier. She got married to Soreng in 2011 with their families' consent, knowing that he had left his first wife. She gave birth to four children - three girls and one boy. She said, "My husband left his first wife long ago. He was living with us."

She also has pictures to support that they had a happy family until the tragedy struck them.

"He loved to spend time with us, he did not get along well with his estranged wife Karmela. My eldest daughter is 13-year-old, and the youngest one is seven. He would send us Rs 12000 for education and household expenditure every month."

After the February terror attack, the only source of income in the family stopped. The once prosperous family has been getting financial help in "bits and pieces" as they chip in to help the family. Both the wives now claim to be the rightful claimant of the benefits and compensation after the soldier died in the line of duty.

Head constable Vijay Soreng, a soldier of 82 Battalion, who was deployed in Srinagar, died when he was returning from leave to join his team in Kashmir. Suicide bomber Adil Dar struck the convoy in Pulwama, blowing to smithereens, the soldier's body.

That is the last time the family heard from him. CRPF sources said that they found out the matter only after they handed over the body to his wives and aged parents.

Both the women have now staked a claim for remuneration and benefits, putting the CRPF in a fix.

Soreng joined the force in 1993 and as per documentation, he ought to reveal correctly the status of his marriage. But understanding the sensitivity of the matter, the CRPF is awaiting a decision by the local court to settle the matter for the "right precedent".