Hav Sambur Gurung

Hav Sambur Gurung hailed from Manbu village in Nepal’s Gorkha district. Born in the year 1984, Hav Sambur Gurung joined the Army after completing his school education at the age of 20 years. He was recruited into 5/8 GR of 8 Gorkha Rifles Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its brave soldiers with a rich history of various battle honours. By the year 2020, he had been promoted to the rank of Havaldar and had developed into a battle-hardened soldier with substantial field experience.

Cross-Border Firing (Nowshera Sector): 10 July 2020

During July 2020, Hav Sambur Gurung’s unit was deployed in Rajouri district of J&K. The unit troops were manning the forward posts in the Nowshera sector along the LOC.  The LOC remained highly active and volatile with ceasefire violations occurring very often and without any warning. The year 2019 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations — 3289 — by Pakistani troops since 2003. Similarly the year 2020 too continued with ceasefire violations. In yet another case of ceasefire violation, Pakistani troops opened unprovoked fire in Nowshera sector along the LOC on 10 July 2020.

On 10 July 2020, in the afternoon at around 1230 hrs, Pakistan Army troops initiated unprovoked firing on Indian posts from across the border in Nowshera Sector of Rajouri district. During that period, Hav Sambur Gurung was manning the bunker of one the forward posts along the Line of Control in the Nowshera sector. Indian army responded in a befitting manner to the Pakistani aggression and consequently, a heavy exchange of fire ensued thereafter, which continued intermittently for several hours. However, during this heavy exchange of fire, Hav Sambur Gurung got severely injured as one of the enemy shells hit his bunker. He was shifted to the Army medical facility but he later succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Hav Sambur Gurung was a valiant soldier and dedicated soldier, who laid down his life in the line of his duty.