Captain Deepak Sharma KC

Captain Deepak Sharma hailed from Haryana and was born on 3rd July 1983. Son of Shri Naresh Kumar Sharma and Smt Indu Sharma, Capt Deepak passed his senior secondary education from Shiksha Bharti School, Rohtak. He grew up listening to the inspirational  stories of his grandfather, who had taken part in World War II, and nursed the idea of joining the Armed Forces since his early age. After graduating from Maharishi Dayanand University, he pursued his childhood dream and got selected to join the Officer’s Training Academy, Chennai. He was commissioned on 16 Sep 2006 into the Corps of Signals, the corps considered to be the nervous system of Indian Army and works as media provider during operations and peace for the Army.

After serving for sometime in his first assignment he was deputed in Mar 2008, to serve with 42 Rashtriya Rifles battalion, deployed in Jammu and Kashmir for counter-insurgency operations. 42 RR had an impressive record of conducting many successful cordon and search operations in the Kashmir valley from time to time since its deployment there and Capt Deepak Sharma was keen to prove his mettle too in the unit.

Pulwama Operation : 04 March 2010

During Mar 2010, Capt Deepak Sharma’s unit was deployed in Pulwama district of South Kashmir and engaged in operations against the militants on a frequent basis. The Pulwama district had been the hotbed for local as well as Pakistani militants who were incessantly seeking  the opportunity to destabilize the peace in that area. The security forces had to maintain a state of alert at all times in the area to counter the infiltration attempts. On 4th March 2010, on specific information, Capt Deepak Sharma and his troops were tasked to clear a house where terrorists belonging to the Hizbul Mujahedeen group  were hiding in a house, in Dadsara Village of Pulwama Ditrict.

The target house was located in a densely populated area and in close proximity of a mosque, therefore the operation had to be carried out with precision to minimize the collateral damage. Capt Deepak Sharma, with extreme courage and focused objective, entered the house, along with his buddy, through a window by tossing hand grenades. He fired and killed one terrorist hidden in the first room at point blank. Then he bravely crawled to the next room undeterred by the heavy fire and volley of bullets raining at him by the militants. On spotting two militants hidden under a staircase, disregarding his own safety, he attacked them and killed them on the spot. Unfortunately, during the heavy exchange of fire, Capt Deepak also sustained a bullet injury on his neck, and was seriously injured. He later succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. 

Capt Deepak Sharma was a valiant soldier and a committed officer who at the age of 26 years laid down his life in the service of the nation. He was given the nation’s second highest peace time gallantry award, “Kirti Chakra” for his exemplary courage, unfaltering leadership and supreme sacrifice. 

The citation of Kirti Chakra awarded to him reads: 

On March 4, 2010, some terrorists were suspected to be hiding in a room in a village in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir, which could not be cleared due to its close proximity to a large Jamia Masjid. Since the targeted room was adjacent to the masjid, and to avoid any damage to it, direct room intervention was the only option to flush out the militants. At 8.15 am, on March 4, Capt Deepak Sharma along with his buddy closed in and entered the house through a small window by lobbing hand grenades. At point-blank range, Capt Sharma fired and killed one terrorist in the first room. He then crawled to the next room under heavy volume of fire from the terrorists and lobbed another grenade. On spotting two terrorists under the staircase, with total disregard to own safety, Capt Sharma charged at them with a steely grit and killed both of them on the spot. However, during the fire fight, Capt Deepak Sharma sustained a gunshot wound on his neck and he later succumbed to his injuries. Captain Deepak Sharma displayed unflinching devotion to duty and indomitable courage in the face of the enemy and made the supreme sacrifice in the finest traditions of the Indian Army.