Naib Subedar Chandan Kumar Mishra

Naib Subedar Chandan Kumar Mishra hailed from Khagaria district in Bihar. He wanted to serve in the Armed Forces since his childhood and eventually joined the Indian Army after completing his school education. He was recruited into the 285 Med Regt of the Regiment of Artillery, an important combat support arm of the Indian Army known for its booming field guns. The Regiment of Artillery has various Regiments that include Medium Regiments, Light Regiments, Missile Regiments, Rocket Regiments and SATA (Surveillance & Target Acquisition) Regiments with every Regiment having its own equipment during wartime. By the year 2022, he had served in various operational areas and had been promoted to the rank of Naib Subedar. 

Army Convoy Accident (Sikkim) : 23 Dec 2022

During Dec 2022, Naib Subedar Chandan Kumar Mishra's unit 285 Med Regt battalion, was deployed in Sikkim near the Indo-China border. The AOR(Area of Responsibility) of the unit spanned over remote rugged mountainous terrain with extreme weather conditions, especially in the winter season. The troops were deployed on various forward posts and often undertook patrol to monitor the area in between the manned posts. Also, heavy snowfall often blocked the roads and hampered the movement of troops which necessitated frequent clearance operations. The mountainous roads in the AOR of the unit were narrow and had steep gradients posing serious challenges to the quick movement of troops. Naib Subedar Chandan Kumar Mishra and his comrades were tasked for an operation on 23 Dec 2022 and had to move by road to the operational area.

As planned the three-vehicle convoy set off in the morning of 23 Dec from Chatten to reach Thangu. Besides 285 Med Regt, the soldiers travelling in the convoy belonged to various other units which included 26 Mech Inf, 221 Fd Regt, 25 Grenadiers, 8 Raj Rif, 113 Engr Regt and 1871 Fd Regt.  As the vehicle carrying Naib Subedar Chandan Kumar Mishra and 19 other soldiers was on its way, it skidded down a steep slope at Zema in North Sikkim while negotiating a sharp turn.  As the vehicle fell into a deep gorge, it got mangled beyond recognition due to the severe impact. As a result, all the 20 soldiers got severely injured.  The Army quickly launched the rescue operation and the injured soldiers were transferred to a field hospital,  However Nb Sub Chandan Kumar Mishra and fifteen other soldiers succumbed to their injuries and were martyred.

Besides Nb Sub Chandan Kumar Mishra, the other martyred soldiers included Nb Sub Omkar Singh (285 Med Regt), L/Hav Gopinath Makur (26 Mech Inf), Hav Charan Singh (26 Mech Inf), Sep Sukha Ram (26 Mech Inf), Nk Ravinder Thapa (26 Mech Inf), Nk Vaisakh S (221 Fd Regt), Nk Pramod Kumar Singh(221 Fd Regt), L/Nk Bhupendra Singh (25 Grenadiers), Nk Shyam Singh Yadav (25 Grenadiers), Nk Lokesh Kumar (25 Grenadiers), Gdr Vikash (25 Grenadiers), Sub Guman Singh (8 Raj Rif), L/Hav Arvind Kumar (8 Raj Rif), L/Nk Somvir Singh (113 Engr Regt), and L/Nk Manoj Kumar(1871 Fd Regt).  Nb Sub Chandan Kumar Mishra was a gallant soldier and committed Junior Commissioned Officer, who laid down his life in the line of his duty.