Lance Naik Gururaj S

Lance Naik Gururaj hailed from Chamrajpet in Bangalore district of Karnataka. Son of Shri Sunder Raj. L/Nk Gururaj was born on 5th April 1980. He studied from V V Puram College and later joined  Dr. B R Ambedkar College for his higher studies. L/Nk Gururaj was inclined to join the armed forces since his childhood and eventually joined the army in the year-2000 at the age of 20 years.

He was recruited into 17 Guards of the Brigade of Guards Regiment, an infantry regiment well known for its valiant soldiers. After serving for few years with his parent unit, L/Nk Gururaj was deputed to serve with 21 RR Bn deployed in the Kashmir Valley for counter-insurgency operations.

Kupwara  Operation: 31 May 2009

During 2009, L/Nk Gururaj’s unit 21 RR was deployed in the Kupwara Sector of J&K. As the AOR (Area of Responsibility) of the unit was severely affected by the militant’s activities, the unit troops had to undertake operations against the militants on a frequent basis. The area was also prone to infiltration by the militants from across the border and the unit had to regularly launch counter-infiltration operations. One such operation was launched on 31 May 2009 by the unit, based on the information from the intelligence sources about the infiltration attempt by some militants.  L/Nk Gururaj was made part of the team that was tasked to undertake this operation.

As planned L/Nk Gururaj and his comrades reached the suspected area in the Rajpura sector in Handwara tehsil of Kupwara district along the LOC. After a while, the troops detected suspicious movement and swung into action. A fierce gun battle followed thereafter with soldiers trying to tighten the cordon around the infiltrators. However, during operation, L/Nk Gururaj received multiple gunshots and was seriously injured. He later succumbed to his injuries and was martyred.

L/Nk Gururaj S is survived by his parents, wife Smt Usha, and son.