Havaldar Nirmal Singh

Havaldar Nirmal Singh hailed from Jansui village of Ambala district in Haryana. Son of Smt Bhajan Kaur, he joined the Army after completing his schooling at the age of 19 years. He lost his father, when he was merely 5 years old and got inspired by his grandfather who served in the Army. He was recruited into 10 JAK Rif battalion of the well known Jammu and Kashmir Rifles Regiment, an infantry regiment widely respected for its intrepid soldiers and numerous battle exploits.

After serving for few years, he got married to Ms Gurwinder Kaur and the couple had two children, daughter Harmandeep and son Vanshdeep. By the year 2021, he had put in over 17 years of service and had been promoted to the rank of Havaldar. By that time he had served in various challenging operational areas and developed into a tough and dedicated soldier. 

LOC Firing (Krishna Ghati sector): 21 Jan 2021

During Jan 2021, Hav Nirmal Singh‘s unit 10 JAK Rif was deployed in the Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch district in J & K along the LOC. India shares a 3,323-km border with Pakistan, of which 221 km of the IB and 740 km of the LOC fall in Jammu and Kashmir. As in the previous years, the LOC was highly active and volatile where ceasefire violations occurred very often and without any warning. It was also used by the terrorists for infiltration with the connivance of Pakistani security forces. The year 2020 witnessed very high number of ceasefire violations and the trend continued in the year 2021 too. One more such ceasefire violation took place on 21 Jan 2021 in Poonch district of J&K.

On 21 Jan 2021, Pakistani troops initiated unprovoked firing on Indian posts from across the border in Mankote area in the Krishna Ghati in Poonch district. Pakistani soldiers violated the ceasefire and resorted to unprovoked firing using small arms, automatics, and mortars. Pakistan army resorted to shelling and firing in Sunderbani sector with a view to push trained militants into the Indian territory. Hav Nirmal Singh’s unit was manning one of the forward posts in that sector. Indian forces retaliated forcefully against the ceasefire violation and the cross border firing continued for several hours. However, during the exchange of fire, Hav Nirmal Singh received gunshot in the chest from one of the snipers of Pak Army. He was immediately airlifted to Udhampur Military Hospital, however, Hav Nirmal Singh succumbed to his injuries on the way and was martyred. Hav Nirmal Singh was a valiant and committed soldier who laid down his life in the service of the nation.

Hav Nirmal Singh is survived by his his mother Smt Bhajan Kaur, wife Smt Gurwinder Kaur, daughter Harmandeep Kaur and  son Vanshdeep Singh.