Naik Shyam Singh Yadav

Naik Shyam Singh Yadav hailed from Gulharia Majra Kakarikheda village of ​​Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh and was born in the year 1992. Son Shri Sunderlal and Smt Shanti Devi, Naik Shyam Singh Yadav wanted to serve in the Armed Forces since his childhood, and eventually joined the Army in the year 2011 after completing his school education. He was recruited into 25 Grenadiers of the Grenadiers Regiment, an infantry Regiment known for its brave soldiers with a rich history of various battle honours.

After serving for sometime, in the year 2013 he got married to Ms Vineeta hailing from Raebareli and the couple was blessed with a son Aman. By the year 2022, he had put in around 11 years of service and had been promoted to the rank of Naik.

Army Convoy Accident (Sikkim): 23 Dec 2022

During Dec 2022, Naik Shyam Singh Yadav's unit 25 Grenadiers battalion, was deployed in Sikkim near the Indo-China border. The AOR(Area of Responsibility) of the unit spanned over remote rugged mountainous terrain with extreme weather conditions, especially in the winter season. The troops were deployed on various forward posts and often undertook patrol to monitor the area in between the manned posts. Also, heavy snowfall often blocked the roads and hampered the movement of troops which necessitated frequent clearance operations. The mountainous roads in the AOR of the unit were narrow and had steep gradients posing serious challenges to the quick movement of troops. Naik Shyam Singh Yadav and his comrades were tasked for an operation on 23 Dec 2022 and had to move by road to the operational area.

As planned the three-vehicle convoy set off in the morning of 23 Dec from Chatten to reach Thangu. Besides 25 Grenadiers, the soldiers traveling in the convoy belonged to various other units which included, 285 Med Regt, 221 Fd Regt, 26 Mech Inf, 8 Raj Rif, 113 Engr Regt and 1871 Fd Regt.  As the vehicle carrying Naik Shyam Singh Yadav and 19 other soldiers was on its way, it skidded down a steep slope at Zema in North Sikkim while negotiating a sharp turn.  As the vehicle fell into a deep gorge, it got mangled beyond recognition due to the severe impact. As a result, all 20 soldiers got severely injured. The Army quickly launched the rescue operation and the injured soldiers were transferred to a field hospital,  However, Naik Shyam Singh Yadav and fifteen other soldiers succumbed to their injuries and were martyred.

Besides Naik Shyam Singh Yadav, the other martyred soldiers included Nb Sub Omkar Singh (285 Med Regt), Nb Sub Chandan Kumar Mishra (285 Med Regt),  L/Hav Gopinath Makur (26 Mech Inf), Hav Charan Singh (26 Mech Inf), Sep Sukha Ram (26 Mech Inf), Nk Ravinder Thapa (26 Mech Inf), Nk Vaisakh S (221 Fd Regt), Nk Pramod Kumar Singh(221 Fd Regt), L/Nk Bhupendra Singh (25 Grenadiers), Nk Lokesh Kumar (25 Grenadiers), Gdr Vikash (25 Grenadiers), Sub Guman Singh (8 Raj Rif), L/Hav Arvind Kumar (8 Raj Rif), L/Nk Somvir Singh (113 Engr Regt), and L/Nk Manoj Kumar(1871 Fd Regt). Naik Shyam Singh Yadav was a valiant and dedicated soldier, who laid down his life at the age of 30 years in the line of his duty.

Naik Shyam Singh Yadav is survived by his father Shri Sunderlal Yadav, mother Smt Shanti Devi, wife Smt Vineeta Yadav and son Aman.