Naik Vaisakh S

Naik Vaisakh S hailed from Mathur village in Palakkad district of Kerala and was born in the year 1994.  Son of Shri Sahadevan and Smt Viji, he had a sister Shruthi as his sibling. He came from a very humble background with both his parents being daily wage labourers. He wanted to serve in the Armed Forces since his childhood and eventually joined the Indian Army in the year 2015, after completing his school education at the age of 21 years. He was recruited into the 221 Fd Regt of the The Regiment of Artillery, an important combat support arm of the Indian Army known for its booming field guns.

The Regiment of Artillery has various Regiments that include Medium Regiments, Light Regiments, Missile Regiments, Rocket Regiments and SATA (Surveillance & Target Acquisition) Regiments with every Regiment having its own distinct equipment. He soon developed into a proud 'gunner' with proficiency in operating the field guns of his Regiment. After serving for sometime, he got married to Ms Geethu and the couple was blessed with a son Tanveek. By the year 2022, he had served in various operational areas and had been promoted to the rank of Naik.

Army Convoy Accident (Sikkim): 23 Dec 2022

During Dec 2022, Naik Vaisakh's unit 221 Fd Regt, 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 Vaisakh 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 221 Fd Regt, the soldiers traveling in the convoy belonged to various other units which included, 285 Med Regt, 26 Mech Inf, 25 Grenadiers, 8 Raj Rif, 113 Engr Regt and 1871 Fd Regt.  As the vehicle carrying Naik Vaisakh 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 Vaisakh and fifteen other soldiers succumbed to their injuries and were martyred.

Besides Naik Vaisakh, 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), Sep Sukha Ram (26 Mech Inf), Nk Ravinder Thapa (26 Mech Inf), Hav Charan Singh (26 Mech Inf), Nk Pramod Kumar Singh (221 Fd Regt), L/Nk Bhupendra Singh (25 Grenadiers), Nk Shyam Singh Yadav (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 Vaisakh was a gallant soldier, who laid down his life at the young age of 28 years in the line of his duty.

Naik Vaisakh S is survived by his father Shri Sahadevan, mother Smt Viji, wife Smt Geethu, son Tanveek and sister Shruthi.