Service No : 3171385
Date of Birth : November 8, 1960
Place of birth : Sonipat Dist (Haryana)
Service : Army
Last Rank : Havildar
Unit : 8 Jat
Arm/Regt : The Jat Regiment
Operation : Op Vijay
Martyrdom : July 9, 1999
Hav Lachhaman Singh
Havildar Lachhaman Singh hailed from Mahlana village in Sonipat district in Haryana. Son of Shri Ratan Singh Balyan and Smt Shanti Devi, Hav Lachhaman Singh was born on 08 Nov 1960. He joined the Army after completing his school education on April 18, 1979, at the age of 18 years. He was enrolled into 8 Jat Battalion of the Jat Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its gallant soldiers with a long history of numerous battle exploits. After serving for a few years he got married to Ms Shakuntala Devi hailing from Haryana.
Op Vijay (Kargil War): 08/09 July 1999
During 1999, Hav Lachhaman Singh's unit 8 Jat battalion was deployed in J & K along the LOC. In 1999, the Indian Army detected a massive infiltration by the Pakistani military and paramilitary forces in the Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir. The army quickly mobilized its forces to drive out the Pakistani infiltrators from Indian territory. At that time, the 8 Jat Battalion was functioning under the 28 Infantry Division (Vajr Division) headquartered at Kupwara in J&K with overall control being exercised by XV Corps. It was one of many battalions deployed in the region as part of "Op Vijay" to give a befitting reply to the aggression of Pakistani forces. During that period, the west of the Kaobal Gali, beyond Zoji La Pass, fell in the area of responsibility (AOR) 28 Infantry Division. Zoji La Pass located about 100 Km from Srinagar was in the Drass subdivision and connected the Kashmir valley to its west with the Drass and Suru valleys to its northeast and the Indus valley further east. It provided a vital link between Ladakh and the Kashmir Valley. It was important to ensure that the attempts of the enemy to intrude into the territory on the Indian side of the LoC were nipped in the bud. Hence, vigorous patrolling was resorted to and operations were launched to dominate the LoC and the areas across it by observation and fire.
In one such operation by the 8 Jat battalion, Hav Lachhaman Singh was part of the team assigned for the domination of a 17,000-foot-high feature close to the LoC over extremely difficult and rugged terrain. On 08 July 1999, Hav Lachhaman Singh and his team members began the operation by scaling a steep cliff, using special mountaineering equipment. However, the approach of his team was detected by the enemy who opened up a machine gun and mortar fire and then brought down effective artillery fire on them. Despite facing heavy artillery and mortar fire, as well as intense automatic weapon fire from the enemy, the platoon successfully scaled the challenging, rugged terrain using specialized mountaineering equipment and reached their objective. After a fierce battle, Hav Lachhaman Singh and his comrades eventually captured the post.
However, under the cover of darkness and fog, the enemy counterattacked that same night, launching a heavy artillery bombardment on the newly captured post. In the intense shelling, a shell landed near Hav Lachhaman Singh, and the devastating explosion severely injured him and few of his comrades. He soon succombed to his injuries and was martyred. Besides Hav Lachhaman Singh, four other soldiers of the 8 Jat Battalion laid down their lives in this entire operation. The other martyred brave hearts included, Hav Sis Ram Gill, L/Nk Azad Singh, Sep Pavitra Kumar Sheoran, and Sep Narender Singh. Hav Lachhaman Singh was a gallant and committed soldier, who displayed caourage and devotion to duty of a very high order during the operation and made the supreme sacrifice.
Hav Lachhaman Singh is survived by his father Shri Ratan Singh Balyan, mother Smt Shanti Devi and wife Smt Shakuntala Devi.
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