Lance Naik Kulwant Singh

Lance Naik Kulwant Singh hailed from Charik village in Moga district of Punjab and was born in the year 1990. Son of an Army veteran Hav Baldev Singh and Smt Harjinder Kaur, he lost his father in the year 1992, when he was about one and half years old. His father Hav Baldev Singh belonged to 4 Sikh battalion and was martyred in 1992, in an operation in Kargil sector. His mother Smt Harjinder Kaur later got married to Shri Mandar Singh and had two children with him. While growing up he developed inclination to serve in the Army like his father and started working towards it.  Eventually he joined the Indian Army in the year 2010 after completing his school education at the age of 20 years.

He was recruited into the 4 Sikh LI Battalion of the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment, a regiment well known for its gallant soldiers. Incidentally it was the same battalion, that his father had served and had become a fallen hero. After serving for some time, he got married to Ms Hardeep Kaur in the year 2020 and the couple had a daughter Armandeep and son Fatehveer.  Later he was deputed to serve with the 49 RR Battalion, deployed in J&K for counter-insurgency operations. By the year 2023, L/Nk Kulwant Singh had put in around 13 years of service and had served in various challenging operational areas. 

Poonch Terrorist Attack (J& K): 20 Apr 2023

During 2023, L/Nk Kulwant Singh‘s unit 49 RR battalion was deployed in the Poonch district of J&K. The unit troops were engaged in operations against the terrorists on a regular basis as the unit's area of responsibility (AOR) was active with militancy. The volatility of its AOR demanded 'high alert' at all times on the part of the troops. The area was also prone to infiltration, which necessitated regular armed patrols to check any infiltration from across the border. The battalion followed strict SOPs(Standard Operating Procedures) while moving its men and material by deploying road-opening teams to conduct sanitization of the area. On 20 Apr 2023, L/Nk Kulwant Singh and a few other soldiers were detailed to move to Sangiot from Bhimber Gali in Poonch district for an operational task. After clearance by the road-opening party (ROP), as planned L/Nk Kulwant Singh and his comrades set off for Sangiot in the afternoon of 20 Apr.

However, at around 1500 hrs, when their vehicle reached Bhata Dhurian, just a few kilometers from LOC, they came under attack by the terrorists. It was a pre-planned move by the terrorists who apparently had done the reconnaissance of the area and planned to attack at the time of their choosing. The heavily armed group of terrorists used grenades, automatic weapons, and sticky bombs too, in an attempt to cause maximum damage. The army truck carrying the soldiers was fired upon from three sides, with the terrorists taking advantage of poor visibility and bad weather conditions. The attack was so sudden and ferocious that L/Nk Kulwant Singh and his comrades did not have adequate time to take any action. The vehicle also caught fire after a targeted attack on its fuel tank. The resultant fire entrapped the soldiers and they got severely injured.  As a result L/Nk Kulwant Singh and four other soldiers soon succumbed to their injuries and were martyred.  Besides Sep L/Nk Kulwant Singh, the other martyred brave hearts included, Hav Mandeep Singh, Lance Naik Debashish Baswal, Sep Harkrishan Singh, and Sep Sewak Singh. L/Nk Kulwant Singh was a valiant and committed soldier, who laid down his life at the age of 33 years in the line of his duty.

Lance Naik Kulwant Singh is survived by his wife Smt Hardeep Kaur, daughter Armandeep, and  son Fatehveer.