Major Vineet Verma

Major Vineet Verma hailed from Prayagraj (Allahabad) in Uttar Pradesh, but spent his early childhood in Bihar and Jharkhand. Son of Shri DK Verma and Smt Meera Verma, he was born on 14 Aug 1979 at Patna and had a younger brother Vikram as his sibling. He did his schooling at Bishop Westcott School at Ranchi in, Jharkhand, and later completed his graduation from Delhi University. Thereafter, he passed the Combined Defence Services Examination and got selected to join the army. He passed out of the prestigious IMA Dehradun on 12 June 2004 at the age of 24 years. He was commissioned into the 19th Dogra Battalion of the Dogra Regiment, an infantry regiment known for its gallant soldiers and numerous battle honours. After completing his training, the young Lt Vineet Verma got posted to a field area and soon honed his field craft skills.

He was gregarious and loved to help others in times of need. He loved to spend time with his friends and family too, thereby maintaining a good balance between his personal and professional life. In a short span, he served in various field areas and developed into a tough soldier and fine officer, who believed in leading his troops from the front. In the year 2006, he got married to Ms Ruchi from Bareilly, and the couple had a son, Akshat. By 2013, he had put in about 9 years of service and had been promoted to the rank of Major. 

Operation Rhino (Assam): 30 Apr  2013

During 2013, Maj Vineet Verma’s unit 19 Dogra was deployed in Assam as part of Op Rhino and was engaged in counter-insurgency operations. The trouble surfaced in Assam with the student agitation in 1979 over the foreigner's issue. Violence continued intermittently till 1985 when the Assam Accord between the AASU (All Assam Students Union), Assam Gana Sangram Parishad (AGSP) and the Central Government was signed. Notwithstanding the accord, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) demanded secession from the Union and started resorting to insurgent activities. The State of Assam was declared disturbed on 27 November 1990. Due to the pressure of the Security Forces, ULFA agreed to a truce in Mar 1991, but renewed violence led to the launching of "Operation Rhino" in Sep 1991.

Relentless counter-insurgency operations against ULFA forced the group to come to the negotiating table. The Peace Consultative Group (PCG) held three rounds of talks with the Government of India (GOI) to facilitate direct talks with ULFA. The GOI responded favorably and suspended all offensive operations against ULFA with effect from 14 Aug 06. However, ULFA used the ceasefire period to consolidate its military and financial resources. Consequently, "Operation Rhino" was restarted with effect from 23 Sep 2006. The militancy-affected areas of the state fell in the area of responsibility of Maj Vineet Verma's unit, and thus the unit personnel had to maintain a high state of alert at all times. 

On 30 Apr 2013, Maj Vineet Verma was leading an area domination patrol in the Chotipara area in the Goalpara district of Assam. On that day, Assistant Commandant Devesh Kulshreshtha of the CRPF was also accompanying him as part of the patrol. Asst Cmdt Devesh Kulshreshtha was on deputation to the 19 Dogra Battalion and was functioning as Company Second-in-Command during the time. Asst Cmdt Devesh Kulshreshtha, who had served in 113 CRPF Battalion in Garhchiroli, a Naxalite-affected area of Maharashtra, was also a trained commando in the counter-insurgency operation.

As Maj Vineet Verma's patrol team was traversing through their planned patrol route, the militants, in a pre-planned move, attacked the troops. Though the attack was sudden, Maj Vineet Verma and his troops swung into action to give a befitting reply. A fierce gun battle ensued thereafter, with a heavy exchange of fire. During this operation, Maj Vineet Verma as well as Assistant Cmdt Devesh Kulshreshtha got seriously injured. They later succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. Maj Vineet Verma was a valiant soldier and gritty officer who laid down his life in the line of his duty. Maj Vineet Verma’s wife, Smt Ruchi, took the tragedy in her stride and decided to take his legacy forward by joining the army. Her dream finally came true on 14 Mar 2015, when she passed out of OTA Chennai as a commissioned officer of the Indian Army.

Major Vineet Verma is survived by his father, Shri DK Verma, mother Smt Meera Verma, wife Smt Ruchi Verma (Now Major Ruchi Verma), son Akshat, and younger brother Shri Vikram Verma.