Lance Naik Vinod Kumar

Lance Naik Vinod Kumar Katewa hailed from Harpalu Tal village of Rajgarh tehsil in Churu district of Rajasthan. Son of Shri Pratap Singh Katewa and Smt Omwati Devi, Lance Naik Vinod Kumar Katewa was born on 01 Jul 1975. He was inclined to serve in the Army since his childhood and eventually following his passion, he joined the Army on 30 Jun 1993 at the age of 18 years. He was inducted into 18 Grenadiers Battalion of the Grenadiers Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its brave soldiers and various battle honours. After serving for some time, he got married to Ms Munesh Devi hailing from Rajasthan.

Battle of Tololing (Kargil War): 13/14 Jun 1999

During 1999, L/Nk Vinod Kumar's unit 18 Grenadiers was deployed in the J & K along the LOC. On 03 May 1999, the intrusions by Pak forces were detected and on 26 May 1999, the first air-to-ground strike was launched by the Indian Airforce (IAF), followed by Operation Vijay, by the Indian Army to evict the intruders from the Indian areas. The army quickly mobilized its forces to drive out the Pakistani infiltrators from Indian territory. L/Nk Vinod Kumar's 18 Grenadiers battalion, under the command of Col Kushal Thakur, was inducted into the Drass area by 3rd week of May 1999. The battalion was functioning under the command of 56 Mtn Bde, with overall operational control being exercised by 8 Mtn Div under Maj Gen Mohinder Puri. The Tololing Heights was the deepest penetration beyond the LC by the Pakistani intruders. The task of capturing the Tololing feature was assigned to 56 Mtn Bde. The Tololing feature comprised Pt 4590, Tololing Top, South East Spur, South Spur, and Hump to its north. Pt 4590 and Tololing Top dominated all the approaches leading to it. As per the plan of attack of 56 Mtn Bde, 2 Raj Rif was tasked to capture the Tololing top by 0600 Hr on 13 June 1999. 18 Garh Rif battalion was to capture Pt 5140 by 0700 hrs on 13 June. Two companies of 18 Grenadiers were to provide a firm base and the balance of the battalion was to act as reserve to 2 Raj Rif.  

After the capture of Tololing top by the 2 Raj Rif battalion, by 13 June 1999, the 18 Grenadiers Battalion was tasked to capture Hump in conjunction with the 18 Garh Rif battalion. L/Nk Vinod Kumar was part of the team of 18 Gren that was assigned the task. L/Nk Vinod Kumar and his comrades launched the attack on the Hump on the night of 13/14 June 1999 preceded by heavy shelling by the Artillery. The area was heavily fortified, but L/Nk Vinod Kumar along with his comrades kept on neutralizing the enemy’s resistance en route. Despite stiff resistance by the enemy, 18 Gren carried on with the attack and by morning captured part of Hump. However during the fierce exchange of fire, L/Nk Vinod Kumar got severly injured and was martyred. By mid day on 14 June 1999, the Hump feature was captured which later facilitated the capture of Point 4590. Besides L/Nk Vinod Kumar, twelve other soldiers of 18 Grenadiers were martyred during this entire operation. The other brave hearts martyred on 13 June 1999, included Nk Praburam Chotiya, Nk Rajvir Singh, L/Nk Raj Kumar, L/Nk Shyam Singh, Gdr Surender Singh, Gdr Sukhbir Singh, Gdr Sita Ram Kumawat, Gdr Manohar Lal, Gdr Naresh Kumar and Gdr Ved Prakash. Two other soldiers, Hav Udham Singh and Hav Sidh Kam were later martyred on 14 Jun 1999. L/Nk Vinod Kumar was a valiant and determined soldier, who laid down his life at the age of 24 years in the line of his duty. 

Lance Naik Vinod Kumar Katewa is survived by his wife Smt Munesh Devi.

• A Government School (up to the 12th grade) has been named after Lance Naik Vinod Kumar Katewa in his memory in Harpalu Tal village of Churu Dist in Rajasthan.
• A memorial honouring Lance Naik Vinod Kumar Katewa has been erected at the bus stand in his village. 
• A Bharat Petroleum gas agency is operational in Sujangarh in the name of Lance Naik Vinod Kumar Katewa.