Lance Naik Mohinder Singh VrC

Lance Naik Mohinder Singh was born on 1st April 1960 in Bhaini Paswal village of Gurdaspur District in Punjab. Son of Shri Ajit Singh and Smt Rattan Kaur, Lance Naik Mohinder Singh had joined the Army on 8th December 1978. He was recruited into 16 Sikh of the well known Sikh Regiment of the Army, which had a long history of gallant soldiers and various battle honours.

Lance Naik Mohinder Singh served with his unit in various operational areas and by 1988 had evolved into a dedicated soldier with substantial experience in field operations. On 29 July 1987, Indian government signed an agreement with Sri Lanka for bringing a peaceful solution to the insurgency in Sri Lanka. However the operations in Sri Lanka did not go as planned and IPKF got drawn into a bloody and long conflict. The Indian operations launched in August 1987 continued for the next three years, involving over 20000 soldiers. Lance Naik Mohinder Singh’s unit, 16 Sikh was inducted into Sri Lankan theater of operations in 1988.

Op Pawan : 23 July 1988

After the induction of Indian forces in Aug 1987, the militants were supposed to surrender but the dreaded LTTE backed out and unleashed 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 july 1988, Indian forces had undertaken numerous operations against LTTE but the war was far from over. Lance Naik Mohinder Singh’s unit, 16 Sikh, was involved in Operation Pawan and was tasked for one such operation on 23 July 1988. Based on credible intelligence reports a decision was taken to launch an operation to attack a militant hideout, located in the area of operation of 16 Sikh.

The assault operation involved two companies of 16 Sikh, who in a tactical move decided to attack the hideout from two directions. At about 1030 hours, one  platoon of Bravo company closing in from the west came under heavy fire from militants. At the same time, Lance Naik Mohinder Singh’s Delta Company, which was  closing in from the east also came under heavy fire. The militants were entrenched in fortified positions and were using automatic weapons. A GPMG(General purpose Machine Gun), used by the militants, was taking a heavy toll of the assaulting troops and impeding the advance. Lance Naik Mohinder Singh in a bid to silence the GPMG, fired from his light machine gun but his fire made little impact.

Lance Naik Mohinder Singh realized that the GPMG had to be silenced somehow, to save the lives of his comrades and make the mission successful as well. In a show of raw courage and daredevilry, Lance Naik Mohinder Singh lunged forward and caught the barrel of GPMG with his bare hands. However he received the full burst of fire from the GPMG and was martyred. The militants taken aback by this action got frightened and fled. This turn of event made the task of the troops easier and gave them the crucial time to reorganize and run over the hideout. Lance Naik Mohinder Singh was an epitome of valour and devotion to duty, who laid down his life in the service of the nation.

Lance Naik Mohinder Singh was awarded “Vir Chakra”for his exceptional courage, indomitable spirit and supreme sacrifice during the operations.