Captain Hari Rajkumar SC

Capt Hari Raj Kumar was commissioned into 9 Grenadiers battalion of the Grenadiers Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its valiant soldiers and various battle honours. After completing his training he served in various operational areas and developed into a tough soldier and gritty officer who always led from the front. In the year 2000, he was given the gallantry award, “Shaurya Chakra” for his dauntless courage and leadership during a counter-insurgency operation in Assam. After his tenure in Assam, he was deputed to serve with the 12 RR battalion deployed in J&K for counter-insurgency operations. 

Banihal Operation : 12 March 2001

During 2001, Capt Hari Raj Kumar's unit 12 RR was deployed in the Doda district of J&K. As the area of his unit’s operation was very volatile and prone to infiltration by militants, the unit had to maintain a strict vigil at all times and deployed armed patrols with regular frequency. The landmines along the patrol routes posed a serious danger to the troops and the Bomb Disposal Squad of the unit was often called upon to sanitize the routes. On 12 Mar 2001, Capt Hari Raj Kumar was leading one area domination patrol in the unit's AOR in Banihal area along with a Junior Commissioned Officer(JCO) Nb Sub Parveen Singh and a few other soldiers. 

Capt Hari Raj Kumar and his soldiers were traversing through the challenging terrain as per the planned patrol route. However as they reached Phagu village near Dulligam about 5 Kms from Banihal in Doda district, there was a massive blast around 1600 hrs.  The blast was triggered by a remote-controlled IED(Improvised Explosive Device) by the militants. It appeared that the militants had knowledge about the troops' movement and had left the village after planting a powerful IED. The blast had a devastating effect, injuring Capt Hari Raj Kumar and his JCO Nb Sub Parveen Singh severely. They soon succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. Capt Hari Raj Kumar was a committed soldier and a fine officer, who laid down his life in the service of the nation.

The citation of "Shaurya  Chakra" awarded to him reads:

On 07 May 2000, Capt Hari Rajkumar received information about some terrorists who had sought shelter in a house in village Pithaguri in Tinsukia, Assam. On 08 May at 0430 hrs, his column reached near a house in the suspected area and it was fired upon. Capt Hari Rajkumar engaged the terrorists and moved from man to man ensuring controlled and accurate engagement of the terrorists. He effectively engaged the terrorists and in a daring move eliminated two of them personally.  The encounter resulted in the killing of five heavily armed terrorists.

Capt Hari Rajkumar displayed extraordinary, gallantry, courage, professional acumen and leadership qualities in the face of terrorists.