Subedar Sanjiv Kumar Thakur KC (popularly known as Sanjiv Kumar) (5 December 1977 – 5 April 2020), was a Junior Commissioned Officer in the Indian Army with the 4 Para (SF).[1][2] He led a team during Operation Randori Behak. For his leadership during the operation, he was posthumously awarded India's second highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra.[3][4][5]
Sanjiv Kumar Thakur | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Sub Sanjiv Kumar Thakur (pictured as Assistant Commander Grade II during deputation at NSG) | |
| Born | December 5, 1977 Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, India l |
| Died | April 5, 2020 (aged 42) Kupwara, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Allegiance |  India |
| Service/ |  Indian Army |
| Years of service | 1996–2020 |
| Rank |  Subedar |
| Service number | JC–413798Y |
| Unit | 4 Para (SF) |
| Awards | |
Early life
editKumar was born on 5 December 5 1977 in Dehra village in the Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. Kumar completed his schooling from Dharamshala.[6]
Military career
editKumar enlisted in the Indian Army on 30 August, 1996. During his service years, he served in various operational areas.[7][8] He was also deputed with the National Security Guard (NSG).[9][10]
Operation Randori Behak
editBy 1 April 2020, some hardcore terrorists entered LOC in the period of COVID 19 Pandemic, it was confirmed with the footprints on the snow ground. They were noticed by Drone surveillance system of Indian Army. 8 Jat Regiment also made a gunfight with them, but the terrorists were able to escape from the place. On 02 April, 41 and 57 Rashtriya Rifles too joined the Operation, but again they hidden in the Jungles after an exchange of firing. After few days later, Army got their location by UAV Intelligence. A new operation was launched, which was named Operation Randori Behak. The team consisted of two squads with six soldiers each of para commandos. Subedar Kumar became one of the squad commander of the team. They were airdropped by Helicopter HAL Dhruv, as the place was full of snow-covered and inaccessible. They started to find out the terrorists in the extreme weather condition. After searching for a while, Paratrooper Chhatrapal Singh and Paratrooper Bal Krishan were standing at the edge of a mountain precipice, which was an overhanging hardened snow mass. Under their weight, the edge was broken and they fell into a frozen mountain stream. Sub Kumar along with his team immediately rushed to rescue them. The terrorists hidden at the same place, where they fell. The terrorists became aware at this incident and started firing at Kumar's team. In the close combat, despite wounded at several parts of body Kumar's team was able to eliminate all of the terrorists. The operation was successful on 5 April, 2020, but Kumar was killed in action.[11] Kumar was posthumously awarded the nation's second highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra.[12] Alongside four of his comrades Havildar Devendra Singh, Paratrooper Bal Krishan, Paratrooper Chattarpal Singh, Paratrooper Amit Kumar were killed in action, only Paratrooper Tamang, Shaurya Chakra was the sole survivor of this operation.[13][14]
Kirti Chakra citation
edit
The President of India presented the Kirti Chakra to Subedar Sanjiv Kumar on November 22, 2021, in recognition of his supreme sacrifices and leadership, which was received by his wife.[15][16][17]
References
edit- ^ "Subedar from Himachal Pradesh gets Kirti Chakra". Times of India.
- ^ "Gallantry Awards | Ministry of Defence, Government of India". www.gallantryawards.gov.in. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- ^ Bhalla, Abhishek (25 January 2021). "War-time honours for Galwan braves, Mahavir Chakra for martyr Col Santosh Babu". India Today.
- ^ "Para Commando Sub Sanjiv Kumar Charged At Terrorists Laying Down His Life For The Nation". IndiaTimes. 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- ^ Ajay Sura (Jan 26, 2021). "Subedar from Himachal Pradesh gets Kirti Chakra | Chandigarh News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- ^ Bharatvarsh, TV9 (2021-01-28). "बर्फ से ढके नाले में गिर गए थे कमांडो सूबेदार संजीव कुमार, फिर 4 दिन बाद ऐसे किया आतंकियों को ढेर, पढ़ें रोंगटे खड़े करने वाली कहानी". TV9 Bharatvarsh (in Hindi). Retrieved 2021-10-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Kupwara encounter: Mortal remains of slain soldiers Sanjiv Kumar, Bal Krishan brought to their hometowns in HP". pp. DNA India.
- ^ "5 Pak supported terrorist killed, 5 own Special Force troops also lost: Indian Army". ANI.
- ^ "Para Commando Sub Sanjiv Kumar Charged At Terrorists Laying Down His Life For The Nation". IndiaTimes. 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- ^ "हिमाचल: शहीद संजीव के परिवार को सुबह चला पता, कोरोना के चलते नहीं जुटने दी भीड़". Amar Ujala (in Hindi). Retrieved 2021-10-17.
- ^ "Army Special Forces commandos killed five terrorists after being air-dropped by helicopters". Times of India.
- ^ "Subedar Sanjeev Kumar KC | Honourpoint". HonourPoint. Retrieved 2021-10-17.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Army pays tributes to 5 soldiers in Keran encounter". Early Times.
- ^ "Number of soldiers martyred in Keran encounter rises to 5; equal number of terrorists killed". The Statesmen.
- ^ "Kirti Chakra to Subedar Sanjiv Kumar". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Subedar Sanjiv Kumar की ये कहानी सुनकर रोंगटे खड़े हो जाएंगे!". Navbharat Times (in Hindi). Retrieved 2021-11-24.
- ^ "President confers Subedar Sanjiv Kumar with 'Kirti Chakra'". DNA India. Retrieved 2021-11-24.