Sep Bhikha Ram

Sep Bhikha Ram hailed from Pachpadra tehsil of Barmer district in Rajasthan and was born on 16th Jan 1977.  Son of Shri Chenaram Chaudhary and Smt Raiee Devi, Sep Bhikha Ram had a brother Padma Ram as his sibling. He completed his early education at Hanuwant Vidya Mandir and Government School Jodhpur. Since his younger days, he was inclined to serve with the Armed Forces and eventually joined the Army on the 26th April 1995 at the age of 18 years.

He was recruited into 4 Jat Bn of the Jat Regiment, an infantry regiment well known for its gallant soldiers and various battle honours. He got married to Ms Bhanwari Devi in 1994, and the couple had a son Bhupendra.

Kargil War (Op Vijay) : May-June 1999

During 1999, Sep Bhikha Ram’s unit 4 Jat battalion was deployed in the Kargil sector of J&K. In the early part of May 1999, unusual movements were noticed in the Batalik-Yaldor sector and consequently, Indian Army units had commenced aggressive patrolling of the area in their AOR (Area of Responsibility). Similarly in the first two weeks of May 1999, several patrols were conducted in the Kaksar Langpa area of Kargil district, to check for the presence of intruders and also see if the snow had retreated enough for the summer positions to be re-occupied. On 15 May 1999,  Sep Bhikha Ram and four other soldiers, Sep Arjun Ram Baswana, Sep Naresh Singh, Sep Bhanwar Lal Bagaria, and Sep Mula Ram, were tasked to undertake a patrol to Bajrang Post in the Kaksar sector under the leadership of Capt Saurabh Kalia. 

After a continuous crossfire with Pakistan forces from across the LOC,  Sep Bhikha Ram and his comrades ran out of ammunition. They reported this matter to the base camp and called for reinforcements. However before the troops could arrive, they were surrounded by a platoon of Pakistani rangers and captured alive. As the patrol did not return, another patrol was sent by the unit subsequently under the leadership of Capt Amit Bhardwaj. This event led to the discovery of hundreds of guerrillas, who had established fortified positions on the peaks of the hills deep inside the Indian side of the Line of Control, with sophisticated equipment and supply lines back to Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

Sep Bhikha Ram and his comrades including Capt Saurabh Kalia were held in captivity from 15 May 1999 – 7 June 1999 for about twenty-two days and subjected to torture as was evident from injuries to their bodies when they were handed over by the Pakistani Army on 09 June 1999. Post-mortem examinations revealed that the Pakistanis had tortured their prisoners very badly in gross violation of international conventions. The post-mortem also confirmed that the injuries were inflicted antemortem (before death). Sep Bhikha Ram was a brave and determined soldier, who laid down his life in the line of duty.

Sep Bhikha Ram is survived by his father Shri Chenaram Chaudhary, mother Smt Raiee Devi, wife Smt Bhanwari Devi, son Bhupendra and brother Shri Padma Ram.