Service No : IC-61109W

Date of Birth : 1977

Place of birth : Pune, (MH)

Service : Army

Last Rank : Captain

Unit : 18 Engr Regt

Arm/Regt : The Corps of Engineers

Operation : CI & IS Ops

Martyrdom : September 8, 2005

Captain M M Bokil

Captain Mandar Madhukar Bokil hailed from Pune in Maharashtra and was born in the year 1977. Son of Shri Hemant Kumar Bokil, Capt Mandar had two sisters as his siblings. He passed out from the Indian Military Academy Dehradun as a Lieutenant in December 2000 at the age of 23 years. He was commissioned into the 18th Engr Regt of the Corps of Engineers, one of the oldest arms of the Indian Army. The corps was established in the year 1780 when the two regular pioneer companies of the Madras Sappers were raised. Subsequently, the Group of Madras, Bengal, and Bombay Sappers were formed and later merged on 18 November 1932 to form the Corps of Engineers.  The Corps of Engineers consisting of three major constituents namely Combat Engineers, MES (Military Engineering Service), and Border Roads also provided officers to the Military Survey and Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO). 

 

The main role of combat engineers was to provide mobility to their own forces by constructing bridges, tracks, and helipads; on the other hand, denying the same to the enemy by creating obstacles such as laying mine-fields and demolition of bridges. Capt MM Bokil's unit 18 Engr Regt had the expertise in constructing bridges and tracks and was equipped with the required men and materials. By 2005, Capt MM Bokil had put in around four years of service and had undertaken many operational engineering tasks in support of combat operations. 

 

Bailey Bridge Collapse: 08 Sep 2005

 

During 2005, Capt M M Bokil was serving with 18 Engr Regt located in Chandi Mandir in Punjab. In June 2005, the Indian Army was tasked to reconstruct four new bridges at Kharo, Khab (15 km from Pooh on the way to Kaurik, the last point on the crucial highway), Leo, and Akpa which were washed away in floods of Parechu lake.  Akpa which was located near the Sutlej river of Punjab, was the main link from Reckong Peo to the upper areas of Pooh, Sumdo, Spiti, and other areas of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti districts. It was also considered the lifeline of upper Kinnaur. In Sep 2005, Capt MM Bokil was made part team of 18 Engr Regt under the leadership of Lt Col Amardeep Singh that was tased to reconstruct the bridge at Kharo, located on the National Highway 22, also known as the Hindustan-Tibet Road, the lifeline of Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh. 

 

On 08 Sep 2005, Capt MM Bokil along with his commander Lt Col Amardeep Singh and 40 other soldiers began the operation after carefully assessing the condition. The bridge was launched successfully after the crucial first stage was completed. In the second stage, the wooden slabs were to be fixed on iron beams of the 80-tonne and 60-metre-long bridge. However, when the soldiers of the 18th Engineers Regiment were fixing the wooden slabs on iron beams, the bridge suddenly collapsed from the center, possibly due to some technical fault.  As a result, all the soldiers fell into the river except for four of them, who were wearing safety belts.  A rescue operation was launched by the Army immediately on receiving information about the incident and MI-17 helicopter from Sarsawa and Cheetah helicopters from Jalandhar were pressed into service. The divers from special forces were airlifted from Nahan and were dropped at Karcham to look for survivors.

 

The rescue teams had to brave conditions which were extremely challenging and demanding due to the deep gorges and rapid currents of the Satluj River. The bodies of the fallen soldiers eventually could be traced after a long-drawn rescue operation. The body of Capt MM Bokil was recovered near Powari on 26 September 2005.  Besides Capt MM Bokil, the other 33 brave hearts who lost their lives included Lt Col Amardeep Singh, Nb Sub NV Mandadi  Hav C Ramachandran, Hav Sasi Kumar V,  Hav A  Arokia Dass, Hav Raviselvan P, Hav R Muniappan, Nk Mali Reddy V, Nk Jagadeesan B, Spr Sridharan J, Spr Natesan L, Spr Suresh K, Spr R Sanjai Gandhi, Spr Suresh V, Spr J Suresh Kumar, Spr P Saravana Kumar, Spr MR Bhasha, Spr Lakshmi Kanth M, Spr Srinivasan M, Spr M Sundaravadhanam, Spr Rangarao, Spr Manjunath Shivalli, Spr S Muthuraj, Spr Raja Velu S, Spr Krishnappa K, Spr K Malabannavar, Spr Palani A, Spr Sankar, Spr Adiveppa Hudali, Spr T Jeyachandran, Spr Sarveypalli SK, Spr VVN Govardhan Gantala and Spr N Gangadhar. 

 

Capt MM Bokil was a gallant soldier and fine officer, who laid down his life at the age of 28 years in the line of his duty. Capt MM Bokil is survived by his father Shri Hemant Kumar Bokil and two sisters.

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