Service No : 3189213X
Date of Birth : August 9, 1978
Place of birth : Hisar Dist (Haryana)
Service : Army
Last Rank : Sepoy
Unit : 8 Jat
Arm/Regt : The Jat Regiment
Operation : Op Vijay ( Kargil )
Martyrdom : July 9, 1999
Sepoy Pavitra Kumar Sheoran
Sep Pavitra Kumar Sheoran hailed from Milakpur village in Narnaud tehsil of Hisar district in Haryana and was born on 09 Aug 1978. Son of an army veteran Late Kitab Singh Sheoran and Smt Sujani Devi, he had two brothers Pradeep and Savitra as his siblings. He wanted to serve in the Army like his father since his younger days and would often ask his father for a gun as a toy. His father served with 7 Cavalry of the Armoured Corps and retired in 1985. His resolve to join the Army grew with age and consequently, after completing his school education, he joined the army in the year 1996 at the age of 18 years. He was recruited into 8 Jat battalion of the well-known Jat Regiment, an infantry regiment widely respected for its intrepid soldiers and numerous battle exploits. This battalion was raised on 14 Dec 1941 at Jabalpur and took part in various operations since its inception.
Op Vijay (Kargil War): 08/09 July 1999
During 1999, Sep Pavitra Kumar's unit 8 Jat battalion was deployed in J & K along the LOC. In 1999, the Indian Army detected a massive infiltration by the Pakistani military and paramilitary forces in the Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir. The army quickly mobilized its forces to drive out the Pakistani infiltrators from Indian territory. At that time, the 8 Jat Battalion was functioning under the 28 Infantry Division (Vajr Division) headquartered at Kupwara in J&K with overall control being exercised by XV Corps. It was one of many battalions deployed in the region as part of "Op Vijay" to give a befitting reply to the aggression of Pakistani forces. During that period, the west of the Kaobal Gali, beyond Zoji La Pass, fell in the area of responsibility (AOR) 28 Infantry Division. Zoji La Pass located about 100 Km from Srinagar was in the Drass subdivision and connected the Kashmir valley to its west with the Drass and Suru valleys to its northeast and the Indus valley further east. It provided a vital link between Ladakh and the Kashmir Valley. It was important to ensure that the attempts of the enemy to intrude into the territory on the Indian side of the LoC were nipped in the bud. Hence, vigorous patrolling was resorted to and operations were launched to dominate the LoC and the areas across it by observation and fire.
In one such operation by the 8 Jat battalion, Sep Pavitra Kumar was part of the team assigned for the domination of a 17,000-foot-high feature close to the LoC over extremely difficult and rugged terrain. On 08 July 1999, Sep Pavitra Kumar and his team members began the operation by scaling a steep cliff, using special mountaineering equipment. However, the approach of his team was detected by the enemy who opened up a machine gun and mortar fire and then brought down effective artillery fire on them. Despite facing heavy artillery and mortar fire, as well as intense automatic weapon fire from the enemy, the platoon successfully scaled the challenging, rugged terrain using specialized mountaineering equipment and reached their objective. After a fierce battle, Sep Pavitra Kumar and his comrades eventually captured the post.
However, under the cover of darkness and fog, the enemy counterattacked that same night, launching a heavy artillery bombardment on the newly captured post. In the intense shelling, a shell landed near Sep Pavitra Kumar, and the devastating explosion tragically claimed his life and those of three of his comrades. Besides Sep Pavitra Kumar, four other soldiers of the 8 Jat Battalion laid down their lives in this entire operation. The other martyred brave hearts included, Hav Sis Ram Gill, Hav Lachhaman Singh, L/Nk Azad Singh and Sep Narender Singh. Sep Pavitra Kumar was a brave and committed soldier, who displayed gallantry and devotion to duty of a very high order during the operation and made the supreme sacrifice.
Sep Pavitra Kumar Sheoran is survived by his mother Smt Sujani Devi, and two brothers Shri Pradeep Kumar Sheoran & Shri Savitra Kumar Sheoran.
No Comments