Naik Husan Lal

Naik Husan Lal hailed from the state of Haryana and did his schooling from Karnal in Haryana. After completing his schooling he joined the Army and was recruited into 19 Kumaon of the well known Kumaon Regiment. After serving with his parent unit he volunteered to join 2 Para(SF), the elite special forces battalion of the Parachute Regiment. 2 Para(SF) troops, known as “Predators” are commandos specially trained for mountain warfare and counter-insurgency operations. Naik Husan Lal successfully completed the tough commando training and joined his battalion, deployed in J & K. 

A linguist by nature, Naik Husan Lal had good command over Urdu and Pashto languages and fared very well in all the courses of instruction. He was physically very fit and strong and was a good sportsman too. He proved his mettle as a sportsman by getting selected for the Pentathlon event at the World Military Games, held in 2007. Layer he was deputed to serve with the Army contingent as part of a UN mission in Congo. 

UN Mission in Congo : 23rd May 2010

During 2010, Naik Husan Lal was serving with MUNSCO (UN Organisation Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo) as part of the Indian Army contingent.  On 23rd May 2010, Naik Husan Lal was on a routine patrol near Mabenga Bridge, area domination vehicle mounted patrol on a road surrounded by heavily wooded hills. The area was located 20 kilometers away from Kiwanja, in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of the Congo. The patrol observed a FARDC (Congolese Army) foot patrol approaching from the opposite direction. Suddenly, all hell broke loose when the foot patrol came under ambush laid by the rebel groups. Naik Husan Lal, who was in the lead vehicle, instinctively jumped out to assess the situation and take retaliatory action.

The UN forces were supporting Congolese army in their fight against the rebels and Naik Husan Lal knew his responsibility very well. Caught in the thick fire fight and at the same time exercising utmost caution, not to injure civilians by his own fire, Naik Husan Lal went ahead to help the Congolese patrol. A gun battle ensued thereafter and during the exchange of fire, Naik Husan Lal got hit by a bullet in the lower back. While being airlifted to the hospital at Goma after first aid, he succumbed to his injuries. However there were no casualties among the Congolese army soldiers, due to Naik Husan Lal’s timely and speedy intervention. Naik Husan Lal was a dedicated and committed soldier who laid down his life in the line of his duty.

Naik Husan Lal is survived by his wife and a son.