Naik Manoj Singh SC

Naik Manoj Singh hailed from Nagra Tarai village in Khatima tehsil of Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand and was born on 10 May 1982. Son of Shri Mohan Singh Rumal and Smt Saraswati Devi, he was the second among two children. He had the inclination to serve in the Armed Forces since his younger days like many youngsters of his village. Consequently, he joined the army on 22 Mar 2003 at the age of 20 years.

He was recruited into the Parachute Regiment, an elite infantry regiment well-known for its awe-inspiring dare-devil operations. Later he got selected to join 1 Para (SF) through a rigorous selection process and got trained as a commando. By the year 2009, Nk Manoj Singh had put in over 06 years of service and had evolved into a dedicated and disciplined soldier.

Kupwara Operation: 23rd March 2009

During 2009, Nk Manoj Singh’s unit was deployed in the Kupwara district of J & K and was engaged in operations against the terrorists on a frequent basis. Based on the information received from the intelligence about the infiltration attempt by some terrorists in Kupwara district, the security forces decided to launch a search and destroy operation on 21 Mar 2009 under the leadership of Maj Mohit Sharma. Nk Manoj Singh was made part of the assault team that was tasked with this operation.  Maj Mohit Sharma and his team of commandos reached the suspected area as planned and soon made contact with the infiltrators. Soon a fierce gun battle ensued with heavy exchange of fire. The operation continued for the next day too and on 22 March, Nk Manoj Singh and few other soldiers were tasked to observe and dominate a track leading to dense Haphruda forest near the area of ongoing operation.

After some time, Nk Manoj Singh observed some suspicious movement, and swung into action. On being challenged, the terrorists fired at the troops indiscriminately. In the following exchange of fire, one of the bullets struck his rifle rendering it unusable. Unnerved sensing danger to his comrades, Nk Manoj Singh lunged forward throwing hand grenade at the terrorists. Displaying commendable courage and gallantry, he managed to eliminate one terrorist and grappled with another. However while doing so, he further sustained injuries. He soon succumbed to his injuries and attained martyrdom fighting for his motherland in the finest traditions of the Indian Army. The operation that commenced on 21 March 2009 continued for several days and eventually the troops managed to eliminate many militants and made the operation successful. A large cache of arms and ammunition was recovered that included 17 assault rifles, four under-barrel grenade launchers,13 AK magazines, 207 AK ammunition, 19 UBGL grenades, two grenades, two global positioning systems, one Thuraya radio set, and Indian currency notes. 

Besides Nk Manoj Singh, the other brave-hearts who sacrificed their lives during the operation included Hav Rakesh Kumar Sharma SC and  Hav Bhakare SA, SM. In addition to these brave-hearts, five soldiers laid down their lives during the operation on 21 Mar which included Maj Mohit Sharma AC SM, Hav Sanjay Singh SM, Hav Anil Kumar SM, Ptr Shabir Ahmad Malik KC and Ptr Nater Singh. Nk Manoj Singh was given the gallantry award, “Shaurya Chakra” for his extraordinary courage, leadership and supreme sacrifice.

Naik Manoj Singh is survived by his wife Smt Asha Devi.