Havildar Bhim Bahadur Thapa VrC

Havildar Bhim Bahadur Thapa hailed from Galkot village in the Anchal Dhaulagiri district of Nepal and was born on 28 May 1965. Son of Shri AB Thapa, he joined the Army after completing his school education at the age of 19 years. He was recruited into the 1/1 GR battalion of the 1 Gorkha Rifles Regiment, an infantry regiment well known for its brave soldiers and numerous operations. 

Sri Lankan Operations (Op Pawan) : 21 Jun 1989

During 1989, Hav Bhim Bahadur Thapa's unit 1 GR was deployed in Sri Lanka as part of 'Op Pawan". After the induction of Indian forces in Aug 1987, the militants were supposed to surrender but the dreaded LTTE backed out and unleashed a war on Indian forces.  Initially, only 54 division of the Army was inducted but the escalation of the operations brought three more divisions 3, 4 and 57 into the conflict. By June 1989, Indian forces had undertaken numerous operations against LTTE but the war was far from over. Hav Bhim Bahadur Thapa's unit 1 GR , was involved in "Operation Pawan" and was tasked for one such operation on 20 June 1989. He was functioning as the section commander of one of the platoons of the Charlie company of 1/1 GR battalion. 

On the night of the 20th/21st June 1989, Hav Bhim Bahadur was part of the team in ambush in the area of Kontakkaran Kulam in Maruthamadhu, in Northern Province of Sri Lanka.  At about 0530 hours on the 21st June 1989, he observed the movement of 15 – 20 militants west of his location. He immediately informed his platoon commander Subedar Shiv Dharshan Singh Gurung, who in turn alerted his entire platoon. Due to the rattling of a Light Machine Gun While being adjusted, the militants got suspicious and started firing indiscriminately with their automatic weapons. In the meantime, Company Commander Major SK Mehta reached there and after assessing the situation, decided to launch an assault on the militants.  Hav Bhim Bahadur Thapa along with his Company Commander, Platoon Commander and Rifleman Ganga Bahadur Ghala, moved to a flank and launched a physical assault on the militants.

In the ensuing gun battle Hav Bhim Bahadur Thapa received a burst of bullets in the chest and started bleeding profusely. Despite being severely injured, he continued fighting the militants and killed two of them. However, he eventually succumbed to his injuries and was martyred.  He displayed a high sense of responsibility and bravery in combat and made the supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Army. Hav Bhim Bahadur Thapa was awarded “Vir Chakra” for his exceptional courage, indomitable spirit and supreme sacrifice during the operations.

The citation for the "Vir Chakra" awarded to him reads:-

Hav Bhim Bahadur Thapa, a section commander of 7 platoon Charlie company, the first battalion of the first Gorkha Rifles was in an ambush in the area of Kontakkaran Kulam (Sri Lanka) on the night of the 20th/21st June 1989.  At about 0530 hours on the 21st June 1989 he observed the movement of 15 – 20 militants west of his location. He immediately informed his platoon commander subedar Shiv Dharshan Singh Gurung, who in turn alerted his entire platoon. Due to the rattling of a Light Machine Gun, while being adjusted, the militants got suspicious and started firing indiscriminately with their automatic weapons. In the meantime, company commander Major  S.K Mehta reached there and after assessing the situation, he along with platoon commander, Hav Bhim Bahadur Thapa, and Rifleman Ganga Bahadur Ghala, moved to a flank and launched a physical assault on the militants.

During this assault, Hav Bhim Bahadur Thapa got a burst of bullet in the chest and started bleeding profusely but he continued fighting the militants and killed two of them. He displayed a high sense of responsibility and Valour in combat and made the supreme sacrifice in the highest tradition of the Army.