Naib Subedar Anand Singh Rawat

Naib Subedar Anand Singh Rawat hailed from Kandakhal village of Rudraprayag district in Uttarakhand and was born in the year 1983. He wanted to serve in the Armed Forces since his childhood like many youngsters in Uttarakhand and eventually joined the Army in the year 2001 after completing his school education. He was recruited into the 22 Garhwal Rifles Battalion of the Garhwal Rifles Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its brave soldiers with a rich history of various battle honours.

After serving for a few years, he got married to Ms Vijaya Devi, who hailed from Dehradun, and the couple was blessed with two sons Manish and Anshul. By 2024 Nb Sub Anand Singh Rawat had served in the Army for around 23 years and had served in various challenging operational areas. By then he had developed into a dependable Junior Commissioned Officer, who shouldered his responsibility very well and commanded the respect of his seniors and juniors as well. 

Kathua Operation (J&K) : 08 Jul 2024

During Jul 2024, Nb Sub Anand Singh Rawat's unit 22 Garhwal Rifles was deployed in the Kathua district of J&K and was engaged in operations against the militants frequently. As the unit’s AOR(Area of Responsibility) was prone to infiltration by the militants, the unit troops had to maintain a high state of alert at all times. The unit undertook operations regularly in its AOR to check the infiltration. Based on information from intelligence sources about the presence of some hardcore terrorists in Kathua district, the security forces launched an armed patrol to track down the terrorists on 08 Jul 2024. Nb Sub Anand Singh Rawat was leading the patrol team that was tasked with the operation. On 08 Jul 2024, Nb Sub Anand Singh Rawat and his comrades set off for the suspected site for a search and cordon operation in the Kathua district.

However, as the convoy carrying the soldiers was on its way, the suspected terrorists attacked the Army vehicle near the Machedi area of Kathua district. In a pre-planned move, the terrorists chose the site of the attack in an area that was hilly with an undulating terrain and had dense forest. The terrorists used grenades and automatic weapons to carry out the attack. The sudden attack had a devastating effect and as a result, many soldiers got severely injured. Nb Sub Anand Singh Rawat and four other soldiers soon succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. Besides Nb Sub Anand Singh Rawat, the other four martyred brave hearts included Hav Kamal Singh, Nk Vinod Singh, Rfn Adarsh Negi, and Rfn Anuj Negi. Nb Sub Anand Singh Rawat was a gallant and committed Junior Commissioned Officer, who laid down his life at the age of 41 years in the line of his duty.

Nb Sub Anand Singh Rawat is survived by his mother Smt Mouli Devi, wife Smt Vijaya Rawat, and two sons Manish & Anshul.