Rifleman Akhilesh Kumar Pandey

Rifleman Akhilesh Kumar Pandey hailed from Kaneli village of Behea sub-division in Bhojpur district of Bihar and was born in the year 1987.  Son of Shri Ganesh Pandey a small farmer, he had an elder brother Ashok Kumar as his sibling.  Inspired by his uncle Tarkeshwar Mishra, who served in the Army, he was inclined to join the Army since his younger days and kept working towards it. Eventually he joined the army in the year 2005 at the age of 18 years. He was recruited into 29 Assam Rif battalion of Assam Rifles, the oldest para-military force in India with its headquarters at Shillong.  After serving for few years, he got married to Ms Ekta and the couple had a son Ayush Kumar and a daughter Kinjal Kumari. He served in Danapur before getting posted to the North-East in Manipur. 

Manipur Ambush : 22 May 2016

During 2016, Rifleman Akhilesh Kumar Pandey's unit 29 Assam Rif battalion, was deployed in Manipur for counter-insurgency operations. There had been increased militant activity in the border region of Manipur in the early part of the year 2015. In response to this, 1,463-km of an un-fenced border between Manipur and Myanmar had been sealed and the Army and paramilitary forces had launched a major counter-offensive against the militants which continued in the year 2016 too.  Since the AOR ( Area Of Responsibility) of the battalion was affected with militant activity, the troops had to be on guard at all times. The unit was engaged in operations against the militants on a regular basis and Rfn Akhilesh Kumar was part of many such operations.

On 22 May 2016, Rfn Akhilesh Kumar as part of Commandant's QRT (Quick Reaction Team) was tasked to assess a landslide area falling in the unit's AOR in Chandel district.  A number of militants from NSCN(K), Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) and Kanglapak Communist Party (KCP) were active in that area. As Rfn Akhilesh Kumar and his comrades were returning after assessing the landslide area, the militants attacked them near Shiv Mandir area about 15 kms from Myanmar border, in a pre-planned move at around 1140 hrs. It was a three-vehicle convoy and the attack was directed at the first vehicle carrying Rfn Akhilesh Kumar and five other soldiers. The soldiers swung into action and retaliated forcing the militants to flee. However in the fierce exchange of fire, Rfn Akhilesh Kumar and five other soldiers received gun shots and got severely injured.  They soon succumbed to their injuries and were martyred.  Besides Rfn Akhilesh Kumar the other five martyred brave hearts included Sub Baldev Kumar Sharma, Hav Susarjit Barla, Rifleman Mahesh Singh, Rifleman Bhupender Kumar and Rifleman Pawan Singh. Rifleman Akhilesh Kumar Pandey was a valiant and dedicated soldier, who laid down his life at the age of 29 years in the service of the nation.

Rfn Akhilesh Kumar Pandey is survived by his wife Smt Ekta Pandey and son  Ayush Kumar and daughter Kinjal Kumari.