Sepoy Shailesh Kumar Singh SC

Sepoy Shailesh Kumar Singh hailed from Dhani Chapra village in Manjhi block of Saran district in Bihar and was born on 27 Jan 1984. Son of Shri Rameshwar Singh and Smt Rajkumari Devi, Sepoy Shailesh Kumar was the eldest child of his parents. He wanted to serve in the Armed Forces since his childhood like his father and grandfather, who too served in the Army making Sep Shailesh Kumar Singh a third-generation soldier. He eventually joined the Army after completing his school education in the year 2002 at the age of 18 years. He was recruited into 14 Bihar of the Bihar Regiment, an infantry regiment well known for its gallant soldiers. 

Sepoy Shailesh Kumar soon developed into a valiant and tough soldier. Adventurous by nature, Sepoy Shailesh Kumar volunteered to get trained as a commando and joined the well known 9 Para (SF) battalion, specialized in Mountain Warfare and Counter Insurgency/Counter Terrorism operations. By 2010,  Sep Shailesh Kumar Singh had put in around 8 years of service operating in various areas with different terrain and operating conditions.  During 2010, Sep Shailesh Kumar Singh was deputed to serve with 63 RR battalion, deployed in J & K for counter-insurgency operation.

Rajouri Sector Operation(J&K) : 02 Apr 2010

During 2010, Sepoy Shailesh Kumar Singh's unit 63 RR was deployed in the Rajouri district of J&K. The unit troops were engaged in operations against the terrorists on a regular basis as the unit's area of responsibility (AOR) was active with militancy. The area was also prone to infiltration, which necessitated regular armed patrols to check any infiltration from across the border. The AOR of the unit also spanned over dense jungle and remote rugged mountainous terrain with extreme weather conditions, especially in the winter season. Based on the information from the intelligence sources, about the presence of some hardcore terrorists in the Kalakote village in Rajouri district, the security forces launched a search and cordon operation on 02 Apr 2010. Sep Shailesh Kumar Singh was part of the team that was assigned the task of conducting this operation. 

As planned, Sep Shailesh Kumar Singh and his comrades reached the suspected area in the dense forest of Rajouri District and soon made contact with the terrorists. Sep Shailesh Kumar took a position fifty meters away from the location of terrorists and launched an aggressive attack along with other soldiers.  He used Multiple Grenade Launcher (MGL) to bring down effective fire and pinned the terrorists down. After a prolonged firefight, two terrorists attempted to break the cordon by firing indiscriminately and charging at the troops. Realizing the danger to his troops owing to inadequate cover, Sep Shailesh Kumar with utter disregard to own safety, moved forward firing MGL accurately killing two terrorists, thereby saving the precious lives of his comrades. However while doing so, Sep Shailesh Kumar Singh sustained a gunshot wound and was seriously injured.  He soon succumbed to his injuries and was martyred.  Sep Shailesh Kumar Singh was a gallant soldier, who laid down his life at the age of 26 years, in the service of the nation. Sep Shailesh Kumar Singh was given the gallantry award, “Shaurya Chakra” posthumously, for his commendable bravery, devotion to duty, camaraderie and supreme sacrifice. 

The citation for ‘Shaurya Chakra” awarded to him reads:

On 2nd April 2010, during a seek and destroy operation in the forest in the Rajouri District of Jammu and Kashmir, Sep Shailesh Kumar Singh of 63 Rashtriya Rifles took a position fifty meters away from the location of terrorists and was bringing down effective Multiple Grenade Launcher fire pinning them down.

After a prolonged firefight, two terrorists attempted to break the Security Force Cordon by firing indiscriminately and charging at own troops. Realizing the danger to his own troops as they were under inadequate cover, Sep Shailesh Kumar Singh with utter disregard to own safety swiftly moved forward firing MGL accurately killing two terrorists thereby saving the precious lives of his own troops. In the firefight, Sep Shailesh Kumar Singh sustained a gunshot wound and made the supreme sacrifice.