Rifleman Anuj Negi

Rifleman Anuj Negi hailed from Dobariya village of Pauri Garhwal district district in Uttarakhand and was born in the year 1999. Son of Shri Bharat Singh and Smt Sarita Devi, Rifleman Anuj Negi had a younger sister Anjali as his sibling. He came from a very humble background as his father served as a daily wager in the local forest department office near the village. Driven by his desire to serve in the Armed Forces and support his family financially, he made up his mind to join the Army very early in his life. Eventually, he joined the Army in the year 2018 after completing his school education at the age of 19 years.

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, Rfn Anuj Negi got married to Ms Seema, who hailed from Pauri Garhwal in November 2023. By 2024 Rfn Anuj Negi had served in the Army for around 06 years and had served in various challenging operational areas by then. Rfn Anuj Negi was very happy to know that he was going to be a father soon and had made grand plans for the new arrival in the family. However, destiny had some other plans for him.  

Kathua Operation (J&K): 08 Jul 2024

During Jul 2024, Rfn Anuj Negi'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. Rfn Anuj Negi was part of the patrol team that was tasked with the operation. On 08 Jul 2024, Rfn Anuj Negi 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. Rfn Anuj Negi and four other soldiers soon succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. Besides Rfn Anuj Negi, the other four martyred brave hearts included Nb Sub Anand Singh Rawat, Hav Kamal Singh, Nk Vinod Singh, and Rfn Adarsh Negi. Rfn Anuj Negi was a brave and committed soldier, who laid down his life at the age of 25 years in the line of his duty.

Rfn Anuj Negi is survived by his father Shri Bharat Singh, mother Smt Sarita Devi, wife Smt Seema Devi and sister Ms Anjali.