Major Puneet Karol SM

Major Puneet Karol hailed from Kotla Nullah in Himachal Pradesh and was born on 8th July 1976. Son of Smt Urmil Karol a retired lecturer from government college Solan, he studied in St. Edward School, Shimla, till class IX. After passing his matriculation from St. Luke’s School, Solan, in 1992, he enrolled in the Government College there. But he always had inclination to join the Armed Forces and live a challenging life. He continued to follow his passion and eventually got selected to join the prestigious National Defence Academy in September 1994.

Later he went to IMA Dehradun and after completing his training he passed out of IMA in the year 1999 as a Lieutenant. He was commissioned into 210 Rocket Regt of the Regiment of Artillery, the combat support arm of Indian Army, well known for its guns, howitzers, drones and other high tech weapons. After serving for two years at Kathua in J&K as his first assignment, he was promoted as Captain and also got selected to be trained as a pilot and became part of the Army Aviation Corps.

He joined as chopper pilot at Jalandhar after getting completing his flying at Hyderabad and Nasik. After serving for few years he got married to Ms Shelly in June 2003 and the couple had a daughter Saranya. Later Maj Puneet Karol was deputed to serve as part of the Indian Contingent in a United Nations mission in 2006-07. 

Helicopter Crash : 24th May 2007

During 2007, Maj Puneet Karol was serving with 661 Army Aviation Squadron of the Army Aviation Corps. The Squadron was operating Cheetah Helicopter, a high performance helicopter designed for operation over a very wide range of weight, centre of gravity and altitude conditions. The Squadron was using the Cheetah helicopter as a versatile, multi role, multi purpose machine undertaking various operational tasks on a regular basis. Maj Puneet Karol was tasked for one such mission on 24 May 2007 along with his captain Lt Col Cunha. 

On 24th  May 2007, Lt Col Cunha and Maj Puneet Karol took off in their Cheetah SA -315 for the assigned reconnaissance mission. Their mission entailed taking off from Jalandhar and flying to Karcham, located in tribal district of Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. The Karcham area had various Hydroelectric Projects going on with high-voltage electricity wires being a common site between mountains. Around 10:50 AM while flying over Karcham, the helicopter lost control and contact with the Air Traffic Control as well. Lt Col Cunha and Maj Puneet Karol being experienced pilots, tried landing at the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam’s (SJVNL) helipad. However while doing so, the rotors of the helicopter got entangled in high voltage wires spanning across two rocky mountains and caught fire. This separated the helicopter from the rotor and the chopper crashed into a hill and exploded. Lt Col Cunha and Maj Puneet Karol could not survive the crash and lost their lives. Maj Puneet Karol was a committed soldier and professionally competent pilot, who laid down his life at the age of 31 years in the line of his duty. Maj Puneet Karol was given the gallantry award, "Sena Medal" for his outstanding bravery, devotion to duty and supreme sacrifice. 

Maj Puneet Karol He is survived by his mother Smt Urmil Karol, wife Smt Shelly and daughter Saranya.