Subedar Guman Singh Solanki

Subedar Guman Singh Solanki hailed from Joga village of Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan. He was very passionate about the Armed Forces since his younger days and eventually, got selected and joined the Indian army in 1995. He was recruited into the 8 Raj Rif battalion of Rajputana Rifles, the oldest Rifle regiment of India with its headquarters at New Delhi. By the year 2022, he had served for nearly 27 years and had been promoted to the rank of Subedar. By then he had served in many operational areas including Srinagar and Leh Ladakh and had earnt the reputation of a dependable Junior Commissioned Officer. He was slated to retire in the year 2023, but the destiny had something else in store for him. 

Army Convoy Accident (Sikkim): 23 Dec 2022

During Dec 2022, Sub Guman Singh's unit 8 Raj Rif 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. Sub Guman Singh 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 8 Raj Rif, the soldiers travelling in the convoy belonged to various other units which included 285 Med Regt, 26 Mech Inf, 221 Fd Regt, 25 Grenadiers, 113 Engr Regt and 1871 Fd Regt.  As the vehicle carrying Sub Guman Singh 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, Sub Guman Singh and fifteen other soldiers succumbed to their injuries and were martyred.

Besides Sub Guman Singh, the other martyred soldiers included Nb Sub Chandan Kumar Mishra (285 Med Regt), 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), L/Hav Arvind Kumar (8 Raj Rif), L/Nk Somvir Singh (113 Engr Regt), and L/Nk Manoj Kumar(1871 Fd Regt).  Sub Guman Singh was a gallant soldier and committed Junior Commissioned Officer, who laid down his life in the line of his duty.

Sub Guman Singh Solanki is survived by his mother, wife, five children (3 girls and 2 boys) and two brothers.