Lance Havildar Som Lal SM

Lance Havildar Som Lal hailed from the Karalian village of Ramgarh tehsil in the Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir and was born on 27 Apr 1962. Son of Shri Joginder Singh and Smt Harnam Kaur, L/Hav Som Lal completed his schooling in Government Higher Secondary School Ramgarh in Samba district. L/Hav Som Lal wished to serve in the Armed Forces like many young lads of his village since his childhood. Following his passion, he eventually joined the Indian army on 27 Mar 1980 after completing his initial education. He was recruited into the 11 JAK LI battalion of the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry Regiment, one of the most decorated infantry Regiments of the Indian Army.

After joining his parent unit, he served in various operational areas and honed his field craft skills. He also took part in "Operation Pawan", when his unit got deployed in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1989.  After serving for a few years he got married to Ms Usha Kumari, and the couple was blessed with two daughters Anjana & Samreeti, and a son Rohit.  Later in his service career, in the year 1996, L/Hav Som Lal was deputed to serve with 1 RR battalion deployed in J & K for counter-insurgency operations. By 1997, he had put in around 16 years of service and had been promoted to the rank of Lance Havildar. 

Shopian Operation(J&K) : 19 Apr 1997

During 1997, L/Hav Som Lal's unit 1 RR was deployed in the Shopian district of J & K along the LOC.  1 RR battalion was operating as part of the Counter Insurgency Force (CIF) (Victor Force) under the operational control of XV Corps also known as 'Chinar Corps', one of the operational Corps of the Indian Army based at Srinagar and looking after the military operations in Kashmir valley. As a number of militants were active in the unit’s AOR(Area of Responsibility), the unit troops had to maintain a very high state of preparedness at all times and had to undertake operations at short notice. Based on the information from the intelligence sources, about the presence of some hardcore militants in the Shopian district, the security forces decided to launch a search and cordon operation in the suspected area on 19 Apr 1997. L/Hav Som Lal was made part of the team that was assigned the task of undertaking this operation. 

As planned the security forces launched an operation on 19 Apr 1997. L/Hav Som Lal and his comrades reached the suspected area. As the operation was underway and the troops closed in towards the suspected house, a heavy automatic fire was drawn from the house endangering the civilians present around the house. Sensing that the lives of many civilians would be in danger, the troops evacuated the civilians including ladies and children to a safe location and engaged with the terrorists. L/Hav Som Lal as leader of his section took the initiative and decided to enter the house to neutralize the terrorists. Displaying commendable courage, L/Hav Som Lal entered the suspected house through a window along with his buddy. After entering the house, he immediately swung into action and neutralized one terrorist, and moved toward the second. But unfortunately, he was shot at by the second terrorist and got severely injured. His buddy evacuated him from the house and took him to a safer place. L/Hav Som Lal was given first aid and immediately evacuated to the military hospital for specialized treatment. However, L/Hav Som Lal succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. L/Hav Som Lal was a valiant and committed soldier who laid down his life at the age of 35 years in the line of his duty. L/Hav Som Lal was given the gallantry award, “Sena Medal” for his exceptional courage, devotion to duty, and supreme sacrifice.

Lance Havildar Som Lal is survived by his wife Smt Usha Kumari, daughters Ms. Anjana Choudhary & Ms. Samreeti Choudhary, and son Shri Rohit Choudhary.