Naik Prem Bahadur Gurung MVC

Naik Prem Bahadur Gurung MVC was born on 22nd November 1956, at Sidhani village in Kaski district of Nepal. Son of Shri Karna Bahadur Gurung, Nk Prem Bahadur joined the Indian Army on 22nd November 1976 at the age of 20 years. He was enrolled into 3/4 GR battalion of 4 Gorkha Rifles Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its gallant soldiers with a long history of numerous battle exploits.

After serving for some time, he got married to Ms Maya Devi and the couple had two daughters, Kalpana Devi & Lakshmi Devi and a son Mekh Bahadur. By 1987, he had put in around 10 years of service and had been promoted to the rank of Naik. By then he had served in various field areas and gained the field-craft skills required to be a battle-ready soldier.

Siachen Operation :  23-24 Sep 1987

During Sep 1987, Naik  Prem Bahadur Gurung’s unit was deployed in Siachen Glacier as part of Operation Meghdoot. As a response to Pakistani misadventure in June 1987, Indian Army took over Quaid Post at Bilafond La in ‘Operation Rajiv’ and renamed it as ‘Bana Post’ after Nb Sub Bana Singh of 8 JAK LI. Since then the enemy troops continued their aggression at regular intervals in an attempt to occupy the lost ground. One more such attempt was made on 23 Sep 1987 when a determined attack was launched at the Indian Post at Bilafond La complex. It was very effectively repulsed by the Indian troops. Again on the night of 24th/25th Sep 1987, the enemy troops launched a massive attack on the post with heavy artillery shelling. Naik Prem Bahadur Gurung was manning the post during that time along with his section.

During the shelling, the Section Commander became a casualty and Naik Gurung took over as the Section Commander. As the battle was raging, his section was running out of ammunition. Undeterred, he ran to to his platoon headquarter twice under intense firing to replenish his section with ammunition. His Section ultimately managed to beat  back a series of enemy attacks, despite six casualties. On 24^th Sept 1987, at about 0325 hours, the enemy troops launched yet another attack. When the enemy troops were just 50 yards from the post, Naik Gurung  got out his trench and charged at them, throwing grenades and firing with his rifles. Having taken aback by his gallant charge, the enemy soldiers started to flee in panic. Realizing that the ammunition had exhausted, Naik Gurung threw his rifle, unbuckled his khukri and attacked the fleeing soldiers, killing three of them. However during the hand to hand fight, he was shot in the chest and got seriously injured. He later succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Naik Gurung  was a fearless and committed soldier who laid down his life in the line of his duty. Naik Prem Bahadur Gurung  was given the nation’s second highest gallantry award, “Maha Vir Chakra” for his exceptional bravery, indomitable spirit and supreme sacrifice.