Service No : IC-67028M

Date of Birth : 1982

Place of birth : Mohali Dist (Punjab)

Service : Army

Last Rank : Colonel

Unit : 19 RR / 12 Sikh LI

Arm/Regt : The Sikh Light Infantry

Operation : CI & IS Ops

Awards : Kirti Chakra, Sena Medal

Martyrdom : September 13, 2023

Colonel Manpreet Singh KC SM

Colonel Manpreet Singh hailed from Bharonjian near Mullanpur in Mohali district of Punjab and was born in the year 1982 in Amritsar. Son of an Army veteran Late Naik Lakhmeer Singh and Smt Manjeet Kaur, he came from a military family wherein, besides his father, his grandfather Sheetal Singh, and uncle Ranjit Singh also served in the army. He had a brother Sandeep Singh and sister Sandeep Kaur as his siblings. He did his schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya Mullanpur in SAS Nagar in Punjab and always nursed the idea of serving in the Armed Forces while growing up. He was a bright student and excelled in his studiesAfter completing his schooling, he went to SD College Chandigarh, where he pursued a degree in commerce (B.Com). Thereafter, he got a degree in Chartered Accountancy and worked as a chartered accountant for a few years. However, he always wanted to join the army and serve his country. His destiny took a distinctive turn when he successfully cleared the Combined Defence Services (CDS) examination in 2004.

 

He joined the prestigious IMA Dehradun and passed out as a Lieutenant in the year 2005 at the age of 23 years. He got commissioned into 12 Sikh LI battalion of the Sikh Light Infantry Regt, a well-known and decorated infantry Regiment of Indian Army. After completing his training, he soon honed his soldierly skills and developed into a tough soldier and fine officer. Besides being a committed soldier, he had an unwavering passion for photography and his camera accompanied him like a loyal companion. After serving for some time, he got married to Ms Jagmeet Kaur in the year 2016 and the couple was blessed with a son Kabir Singh and a daughter Vani.  Later he was deputed to serve with the 19 RR Battalion, deployed in J&K for counter-insurgency operations. He served as Second in Command (2IC) from 2019 to 2021 with 19 RR and later took over the reins of 19 RR as the Commanding Officer. By the year 2023, Col Manpreet Singh had put in around 17 years of service and had served in various challenging operational areas. 

 

Anantnag Operation: 12/13 Sep 2023

 

During 2023, Col Manpreet Singh’s 19 RR battalion was deployed in the Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir for counterinsurgency operations. As the AOR (Area of Responsibility) of the unit was an insurgency-prone area, the troops had to maintain a very high level of alert at all times. Col Manpreet Singh had taken part in a number of operations in his stint of around 5 years with the battalion and was decorated with the "Sena Medal", for gallantry in 2021, while he was a Lieutenant Colonel. On 13 Sep 2023, the security forces received information from intelligence sources about the presence of some hardcore terrorists in the dense forests surrounding Gadool village of Kokernag in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district. After analyzing the information, it was decided to launch an operation to neutralize the terrorists.

 

Accordingly, a joint operation was launched on the intervening night of 12/13 Sep 2023 along with elements of 19 RR and J & K Police. Col Manpreet Singh as commanding officer of the 19 RR was leading the joint team. As planned the joint team reached the suspected area and launched the cordon and search operation.  As the search operation was underway, the terrorists sensing the danger fired at the troops in a bid to escape. A fierce gun battle ensued thereafter with a heavy exchange of fire from both sides. However, during the exchange of fire, Col Manpreet Singh, Major Aashish Dhonchak and Sep Pardeep Singh from 19 RR and DSP J&K Police Humayun Bhatt received gunshots and got severally injured. The injured Sep Pardeep Singh could not be located and went missing. The other injured soldiers were immediately evacuated and airlifted for medical treatment to Srinagar. However, they later succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. After extensive search, the body of Sep Pardeep Singh could be recovered from the dense jungle after five days. Col Manpreet Singh was a valiant soldier and a gritty officer who led his men from the front like a good military leader. He displayed courage, leadership, and comradeship of a very high order during the operation and laid down his life at the age of 41 years in the service of the nation. Col Manpreet Singh was given the nation’s second-highest peacetime gallantry award, “Kirti Chakra” for his outstanding courage, devotion to duty, and supreme sacrifice.

 

Col Manpreet Singh is survived by his mother Smt Manjeet Kaur, wife Smt Jagmeet Kaur, son Kabir Singh, and daughter Vani.

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5 Comments
  • Raghubar Singh Rawat

    2024 at 7:06 am Reply

    भारत मां के इन सभी रणबांकुरों को मेरा सलाम। इन सपूतों को देश सदा याद रखेगा।

    इन रणबांकुरों के परिवारों के प्रति मै और मेरे परिवार के सभी सदस्य गहरी संवेदना व्यक्त करते है।

  • Birender Singh

    2024 at 10:34 pm Reply

    Maa Bharti ke pyaro ko Sat Sat Naman

  • Tanveer Singh

    2024 at 2:39 pm Reply

    Maa bhart ke pyaro ko sat sat naman

  • Shrichand Singh soora.. Senior Inspector of Rajasthan Police.

    2024 at 9:10 am Reply

    Hero of India….
    Guiding Soldiers from sky..

  • Rajpal

    2024 at 6:30 pm Reply

    We Salute to our Kargil war Heroes on occasion of 25th (Silver Jubilee) Kargil Vijay Diwas, Jai Hind

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