Lieutenant Digvijay Panwar

Lt Digvijay Panwar hailed from Bhalaswa Isapur, village in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh and was born on 16 Jun 1974. Son of  Dr Baldeo Singh Panwar and Smt Rajesh Panwar, he developed an inclination to serve in the Armed Forces since his younger days. Consequently, after completing his education he joined the Indian Army and was commissioned into 313 Fd Regt of the Regiment of Artillery, an important combat support arm of the Indian Army known for its booming field guns. Right from an early age,  he was an avid reader and had a big collection of books. He was a member of the American Library Center in New Delhi. Besides being a deep-rooted soldier, he was a great human being and often talked about the great work the Indian Army was doing to help the poor people in remote areas. 

Op Rhino (Assam): 06 Aug 1998

During 1998, Lt Digvijay Panwar’s unit 313 Fd Regt was deployed in the Nalbari district of Assam as part of "Operation Rhino".  As the AOR(Area of Responsibility) of the unit was affected by militancy, the unit troops were engaged in operations against the militants on a regular basis. The unit launched regular patrols to monitor suspicious activities as part of their operations to keep militancy under check. The militants invariably belonged to ULFA (The United Liberation Front of Assam) a designated revolutionary rebel organization, which sought to establish an independent state of Assam.  At that time, Assam was in a very fragile and volatile state owing to the frequent insurgent activities. The militants often launched surprise attacks on the security forces in retaliation to the counter-insurgency operations being undertaken by them. On 06 August an army convoy of five vehicles belonging to 313 Field Regiment was returning from Balilecha to Nalbari in Assam after completing an operational task. The convoy was being led by Lt Digvijay Panwar who was travelling in a Jonga as the lead vehicle. 

As the convoy reached Japarkuchi near College Chowk about 1 km off Nalbari district headquarters, the insurgents from ULFA exploded an improvised explosive device (IED) in a pre-planned attack. Soon after the blast, the heavily armed insurgents resorted to firing at the soldiers. The IED blast followed by indiscriminate firing by the ultras took Lt Digvijay Panwar and his comrades by surprise and did not give them any time to react. Consequently, Lt Digvijay Panwar, L/Nk Surjit Singh and Gnr Mam Chand having borne the brunt of the attack got severely injured. They soon succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. Additionally, three more soldiers got wounded and were shifted to the base hospital at Basistha. Lt Digvijay Panwar was a valiant soldier and a fine officer, who laid down his life at the age of 24 years in the line of his duty.

Lt Digvijay Panwar is survived by his father Dr Baldeo Singh Panwar and mother Smt Rajesh Panwar.

• His parents Dr Baldeo Singh Panwar and Smt Rajesh Panwar have started a school named "Lt Digvijay Panwar Charitable Memorial School" at Bhalaswa Isapur, village in the Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh in his honour.