Service No : 3181852K
Date of Birth : May 4, 1969
Place of birth : Gurgaon Dist(Haryana)
Service : Army
Last Rank : Lance Naik
Unit : 8 Jat
Arm/Regt : The Jat Regiment
Operation : Op Vijay ( Kargil )
Awards : Sena Medal
Martyrdom : July 9, 1999
Lance Naik Azad Singh SM
Lance Naik Azad Singh hailed from Mumtazpur village in the Pataudi tehsil of Gurgaon district in Haryana. Son of Shri Sultan Singh and Smt Kamla Devi Lance Naik Azad Singh was born on 04 May 1969. After completing his schooling, he joined the Indian Army in Jan 1988 at the age of 19 years. He was enrolled into the 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 some time, he got married in 1990 to Ms Sushila Devi hailing from Haryana. By the year 1999, he had put in over 10 years of service and had been promoted to the rank of Lance Naik.
Op Vijay (Kargil War): 08/09 July 1999
During 1999, L/Nk Azad 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, L/Nk Azad 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, L/Nk Azad 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, L/Nk Azad 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 L/Nk Azad Singh, and the devastating explosion tragically claimed his life and severely injuring few of his comrades. Besides L/Nk Azad 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, Hav Lachhaman Singh, Sep Pavitra Kumar Sheoran, and Sep Narender Singh. L/Nk Azad Singh was a brave and committed soldier, who displayed gallantry and devotion to duty of a very high order during the operation and made the supreme sacrifice. L/Nk Azad Singh was awarded the "Sena Medal" posthumously on 26 Jan 2000 for his commendable gallantry, devotion to duty, and supreme sacrifice.
Lance Naik Azad Singh is survived by his wife Smt Sushila Devi.
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