Capt Vinay R Sachan

Capt Vinay R Sachan hailed from Mumbai in Maharashtra and was born on 13 Jan 1977. Son of Shri Rajabeta Sachan and Smt  Sudha Sachan, he had a sister Pallavi as his sibling.  He did his initial schooling at H K Gidwani High School at Mulund in Mumbai and later went to Sister Nivedita English School at Dombivli for his 9th and 10th classes. Later he went to K V Pendharkar College at Dombivli for higher studies. He always excelled in his studies and was a bright student right from school to his graduation. He had developed a keen interest in Armed Forces since his younger days and continued to follow that passion. He eventually passed the Combined Defence Services Examination in the first attempt and got selected to join the Army.

He joined the prestigious IMA Dehradun on 11 June 1998 and after one and half years of rigorous training passed out on 10 Dec 1999 at the age of 22 years. He was commissioned into the 5 MLI battalion of the Maratha Light Infantry Regiment, an infantry regiment well known for its gallant soldiers and a number of battle honours. After completing his training, he got posted to J&K as his first assignment.  In the year 2000, his unit moved to Kota in Rajasthan. In that year, he underwent the Young Officers' course and excelled in varous subjects during the course. Later he also got trained as a commando and completed the rigorous training at Belgaum. In the year 2001, his unit got deployed on the Rajasthan border near Bikaner in the aftermath of Parliament attack on 13 Dec 2001. He served in various challenging operational areas and developed into a fine officer with admirable soldierly skills. Later in Feb 2003, he was deputed to serve with 27 Rashtriya Rifles battalion deployed in J&K for counter-insurgency operations. 

Surankote Operation (J&K) : 24 Mar 2003

During March 2003, Capt Vinay R Sachan was serving with 27 RR battalion deployed in Poonch district of J&K.  The battalion was engaged in counter-insurgency operations in its area of operation(AOR). As a number of militants were active in its AOR, the unit troops had to maintain a very high state of preparedness at all times and had to undertake operations at a short notice. Based on the information from the intelligence sources, about the presence of some hardcore militants in Bafliaz village in Surankote tehsil of Poonch district, the security forces decided to launch an operation on 24 March 2003. Capt Vinay was tasked to lead that operation along with a Junior Commissioned officer and twenty three other soldiers. 

As planned, Capt Vinay and his men reached the suspected area in Bafliaz village. Capt Vinay divided his troops in two groups and chalked out a tactical plan. Capt Vinay along with two more soldiers decided to move forward to tighten the cordon, with the other group waiting for the signal from Capt Vinay to join in. As Capt Vinay and his men lunged forward, three militants appeared from behind and fired at them. A fierce gun battle ensued thereafter with heavy exchange of fire. One of the soldiers got shot in the exchange of fire and collapsed. Capt Vinay immediately swung into action and turned back to take on the terrorists. The other soldier with Capt Vinay also took a direct hit and fell down. Undeterred, Capt Vinay though surrounded from all sides kept firing at the terrorists and managed to eliminate two of them. However Capt Vinay too received multiple gun shots and was severely injured. By the time the troops could evacuate Capt Vinay, it was too late. He soon succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Capt Vinay R Sachan was a valiant soldier and a fine officer, who led from the front and laid down his life in the line of his duty at the age of 26 years.

Capt Vinay R Sachan is survived by his father Shri Rajabeta Sachan, mother Smt  Sudha Sachan and sister Pallavi Sachan.

• Captain Vinay Kumar Sachan Smarak - A Battle Tank is placed next to the Sports Complex in honour of Capt Vinay Kumar Sachan at Dombivli in Mumbai