Lt Kanavdeep Singh KC

Lt Kanavdeep Singh hailed from Amritsar in Punjab. Son of Shri Sukhwant Singh and Smt Rajbeer Kaur, Lt Kanavdeep was inclined to join the Armed Forces since his younger days. Eventually after completing B.Sc.(honours) degree from Guru Nanak Dev University, he got selected to join the Army through the Combined Defence Services Examination. In Jan 2001, he was recruited into 10 Sikh of the Sikh Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its gallant soldiers and numerous battle exploits.

After completing his training he got posted to the Kashmir valley as his first assignment. Within short time he built his reputation of being a fearless soldier and a fine officer. Popularly known as Lt KD among his colleagues, he was liked and respected by everyone in his battalion.

Op Parakram: 23 Sep 2003

During 2003, In 2003, Lt Kanavdeep’s unit was deployed in Baramulla district of J&K. As a number of militants were active in the AOR(Area of Responsibility) of the unit, the troops were engaged in counter-insurgency and counter infiltration operations on a regular basis. The unit was also part of ongoing “Operation Parakram” launched by the Army in Dec 2001. On 23 Sept 2003, Lt Kanavdeep Singh was tasked to lead a platoon in carrying out a search and destroy operation in Gurez Sector of Jammu & Kashmir. On that day a  patrol party of Ladakh Scouts got ambushed by terrorists wherein two soldiers got injured and many more got trapped under heavy fire. Lt Kanavdeep, realizing the gravity of the situation, immediately decided to divert his platoon to rescue the trapped patrol.

As Lt Kanavdeep and his men closed in, they came under heavy fire from the second group of terrorists, hiding in an inaccessible natural cave. Without regard for his personal safety, Lt Kanavdeep shot and killed one terrorist. Meanwhile, he noticed that his rocket launcher detachment was unable to fire at the terrorists owing to effective terrorists’ fire.  Lt Kanavdeep then moved towards the detachment but received gun shots and got injured during this process. by terrorist fire. However, despite being wounded, Lt Kanavdeep displaying rare courage crawled over to the detachment and fired the Rocket Launcher killing the second terrorist and injuring the third one. During this process, Lt Kanavdeep had excessive blood loss and collapsed. He later succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Lt Kanavdeep Singh was a valiant soldier and gritty officer who led from the front like a true military leader.

Lt Kanavdeep Singh was given the nation’s second highest peace time gallantry award, “Kirti Chakra” for his outstanding courage, leadership, camaraderie and supreme sacrifice. Lt Kanavdeep Singh is survived by his mother Smt Rajbeer Kaur, brother Shri Manavdeep Singh and two sisters Smt Sukhdeep Kaur and Smt Amandeep Kaur.