Lance Havildar Gopinath Makur

Lance Havildar Gopinath Makur hailed from Bhaluka village in Bankura district of West Bengal. He wanted to serve in the Armed Forces since his childhood and eventually joined the Indian Army in 2001 at the age of 18 years. He was recruited into the 26 Mech Inf battalion of the Mechanized Infantry, an infantry Regiment well known for its gallant soldiers and various battle honours.  After serving for few years, he got married to Ms Mallika and the couple was blessed with a son. By 2022, he had completed around 21 years of service and had been promoted to the rank of Lance Havildar. 

Army Convoy Accident (Sikkim): 23 Dec 2022

During Dec 2022, L/Hav Gopinath Makur 's unit 26 Mech Inf battalion, was deployed in Sikkim near the Indo-China border. The AOR(Area of Responsibility) of the unit spanned over remote rugged mountainous terrain with extreme weather conditions, especially in the winter season. The troops were deployed on various forward posts and often undertook patrol to monitor the area in between the manned posts. Also, heavy snowfall often blocked the roads and hampered the movement of troops which necessitated frequent clearance operations. The mountainous roads in the AOR of the unit were narrow and had steep gradients posing serious challenges to the quick movement of troops. L/Hav Gopinath Makur and his comrades were tasked for an operation on 23 Dec 2022 and had to move by road to the operational area.

As planned the three-vehicle convoy set off in the morning of 23 Dec from Chatten to reach Thangu. Besides 26 Mech inf, the soldiers traveling in the convoy belonged to various other units which included 285 Med Regt, 221 Fd Regt, 25 Grenadiers, 8 Raj Rif, 113 Engr Regt and 1871 Fd Regt.  As the vehicle carrying L/Hav Gopinath Makur and 19 other soldiers was on its way, it skidded down a steep slope at Zema in North Sikkim while negotiating a sharp turn.  As the vehicle fell into a deep gorge, it got mangled beyond recognition due to the severe impact. As a result, all 20 soldiers got severely injured. The Army quickly launched the rescue operation and the injured soldiers were transferred to a field hospital, However L/Hav Gopinath Makur and fifteen other soldiers succumbed to their injuries and were martyred.

Besides L/Hav Gopinath Makur, the other martyred soldiers included Nb Sub Chandan Kumar Mishra (285 Med Regt), Naib Subedar Omkar Singh (285 Med Regt), Hav Charan Singh (26 Mech Inf), Sep Sukha Ram (26 Mech Inf), Nk Ravinder Thapa (26 Mech Inf), Nk Vaisakh S (221 Fd Regt), Nk Pramod Kumar Singh(221 Fd Regt), L/N Bhupendra Singh (25 Grenadiers), Nk Shyam Singh Yadav (25 Grenadiers), Nk Lokesh Kumar (25 Grenadiers), GDR Vikash (25 Grenadiers), Sub Guman Singh (8 Raj Rif), L/Hav Arvind Kumar (8 Raj Rif), L/Naik Somvir Singh (113 Engr Regt), and L/Nk Manoj Kumar(1871 Fd Regt). L/Hav Gopinath Makur was a gallant soldier and committed soldier, who laid down his life in the line of his duty.

Lance Hav Gopinath Makur is survived by his parents, wife Smt Mallika Makur and son.