Captain Pramod Jolley

Captain Pramod Jolley was commissioned into the 12 Jat Battalion of the famed Jat Regiment, a regiment known for its fearless soldiers and numerous battle exploits. Since its raising on 06 February 1970, the Battalion had the honour of participating in all the major operations including the 1971 Indo- Pak war and Operation Meghdoot. By the year 1988, he had been promoted to the rank of Captain and had taken part in various operations. 

Op Pawan : 13 Sep 1988

During Sep 1988, Capt Pramod Jolley's unit 12 Jat was deployed in Sri Lanka as part of IPKF. After the induction of Indian forces in Aug 1987, the militants were supposed to surrender but the dreaded LTTE backed out and unleashed war on Indian forces. Initially only 54 division of the Army was inducted but the escalation of the operations brought three more divisions 3, 4 and 57 into the conflict. By Aug 1988, Indian forces had undertaken numerous operations against LTTE but the war was far from over. Capt Pramod Jolley’s unit, 12 Jat, under the command of Col Baljit Gill was tasked for one such operation on 13 Sep 1988. Based on credible intelligence reports a decision was taken to launch an operation under the leadership of Major Michael Lewis to attack a militant hideout, located in the Puliyankulam area falling in the AOR (Area of Responsibility) of 12 Jat.

While Capt Pramod Jolley and Major Michael Lewis along with their comrades were moving towards the given objective they came under fire of small arms and rockets. Capt Pramod Jolley along with his soldiers swung into action immediately and returned the fire. However, assessing that the strength and position of the militants was formidable, Major Michael Lewis quickly redeployed his troops to encircle the militants who had ambushed them. However the LTTE cadres were heavily armed and were firing from vantage points in a pre-planned move. In the ensuing gun battle Capt Pramod Jolley received gunshots and was martyred. A total of 17 soldiers made the supreme sacrifice in that fierce battle. Besides Capt Pramod Jolley, the other 16 fallen soldiers included Major Michael Lewis, Hav Prabhudayal, Hav Dalip Singh, Nk Bhoop Singh, Nk Mohinder Singh, Nk Babu Singh, Nk RN Mishra, L/Nk Phool Singh, Sep Sube Singh, Sep Satyawan Singh, Sep Ram Singh, Sep Netha Singh, Sep Babu Lal, Sep Daljit Kumar, Sep Ramesh Kumar and Sep Kapoor Singh. Capt Pramod Jolley was a valiant soldier and committed officer, who laid down his life in the line of his duty.