Lt Cdr Manoranjan Kumar, SC

Lt Commander Manoranjan Kumar  (26) hailed from  Jamshedpur of  Jharkhand. He was the only son of his parents Naveen Kumar and Smt. Rukmini Devi. He was quite studious and had scored 91 and 89% in class X, XII respectively;  thereafter he applied for direct entry in the navy. He wanted to join the defense services since he was a child and his childhood dream came true when he joined naval engineer course through a direct technical entry scheme after finishing high school from Army Public School Bareilley. He had undergone training in electronics engineering in Goa and Lonavala in Maharastra before being commissioned in the navy in 2009.

 INS Sindhuratna: 26th February 2014

Lt Cdr Manoranjan Kumar,  on 25 Feb 14 with a crew of 94 personnel embarked onboard INS Sindhuratna which sailed for sea examination post completion of refit. During the early hours of 26 Feb at about 0530 hrs, excessive build-up of smoke was reported in the IIIrd compartment which also houses one-half of the submarine’s main batteries. Lt Cdr Manoranjan Kumar and his colleague in the capacity as the Officer-in-charge (IIIrd compartment) & Deputy Electrical officer respectively immediately mobilized all available personnel and damage control assets and commenced valiant effort towards controlling the grave emergency. As the ambient temperature in the compartment increased due to heat and the visibility reduced, they unmindful of their personal safety continued to fight the emergency. At one stage, he and his colleagues realized that conditions for human survival in the vicinity of damage had deteriorated they immediately ordered the evacuation of the damage control team comprising 13 personnel to safer areas thus drastically reducing the number of casualties. They not only did the fire-fighting themselves but also provided extremely vital inputs to the Command Post on the status of damage control and further likely implications. They limited the damaged area preventing the spread of fire to the battery compartment, thus obviating an extremely dangerous possibility of damage to the entire submarine. Even the breathing had become extremely difficult both continued pushing the crew to safety and fought the emergency undeterred. They were last seen fighting the fire/smoke, rather than saving themselves. Their exemplary effort to douse the smoke in extremely hazardous conditions was beyond the call of duty, which ensured the survival of 94 crew members and the safety of submarine.

Lt Cdr Manoranjan and the other officer laid down their life keeping with their responsibility as the Compartment officer & Electrical officer, the safety of the submarine and personnel above their own. Their singular act of courage and bravery resulted in the damage being contained, casualties being minimized and extensive structural damage to the submarine being averted. Their valor and dedication are in keeping with the highest traditions of the Indian Navy and ethos of the officer corps. Lieutenant Commander Manoranjan Kumar, has been awarded “Shaurya Chakra” (Posthumous).