Service No : 4075870X
Place of birth : Pauri Garhwal Dist
Service : Army
Last Rank : Rifleman
Unit : 18 Garh Rif
Arm/Regt : The Garhwal Rifles
Operation : Op Vijay ( Kargil )
Awards : Vir Chakra
Martyrdom : June 29, 1999
Rifleman Kuldeep Singh VrC
Rfn Kuldeep Singh Rawat hailed from Vitan Tali village of Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand and was born on 02 Oct 1974. Son of Shri Hukam Singh Rawat and Smt Kamla Devi, Rfn Kuldeep Singh joined the army on 25 Oct 1995 at the age of 20 years. He was recruited into the 18th Gharwal Battalion of the Gharwal Rifles Regiment, an infantry regiment well known for its gallant soldiers. After serving for some time, he got married to Ms Suman hailing from Uttarakhand.
Battle Of Point 4700 (Kargil War) : 28/29 June 1999
In June 1999, Rfn Kuldeep Singh's 18 Garh Rif battalion, under the command of Col SK Chakravarti was inducted into the Drass area. The battalion was functioning under the command of 56 Mtn Bde, with overall operational control being exercised by 8 Mtn Div under Maj Gen Mohinder Puri. Shortly after the signing of the Lahore declaration in 1999, the Pakistan Army surreptitiously occupied the winter vacated posts of the Indian Army. On 03 May 1999, these intrusions were detected and on 26 May 1999, the first air-to-ground strike was launched by the Indian Air Force (IAF), followed by Operation Vijay, by the Indian Army to evict the intruders from the Indian areas. The army quickly mobilized its forces to drive out the Pakistani infiltrators from Indian territory. After the capture of Tololing and Point 5140 by 20 June 1999, it was necessary to maintain pressure on the enemy. A number of reconnaissance missions confirmed that an area called 'Three Pimples Ridge' was needed to be captured in conjunction with Point 4700 in the first phase. Subsequently, it was required to capture Point 5100 to reach the LOC. The 'Three Pimples Ridge' which emanated from Pt 5100 on the Marpo La Ridgeline dominated the National Highway, Drass town, and Sando Valley. The capture of this area was necessary to pave the way for capturing Pt 5100 and subsequently Pt 5600, to isolate the intrusion east of Sando Nala in Drass. Three Pimples also known as the Black Rock complex consisted of Three Pimples, Lone Hill, Knoll, and Kajal and bifurcated into two spur lines. Point 4700 Ridge consisted of Pt 4700, Saddle, Tommy, Sangar, Rocky, and Junction Point. In order to achieve the desired objective in that area, a bold plan to launch multidirectional attacks spread over two phases was chalked out.
As per the operational plan, in phase-I, 2 Raj Rif was to capture Knoll and Lone Hill and contact Junction Point by the early morning of 29 June. 18 Garh Rif was tasked to capture Tommy, Saddle, and Pt 4700 by 29 June morning. In phase-II, 2 Raj Rif was to clear Three Pimples by midday and 16 Grenadiers Battalion was to exploit the situation and capture Junction Point by 30 June. In this phase, 18 Garh Rif was tasked to capture Rocky and Sangar and thereafter link up with 16 Grenadiers at Junction Point by 30 June. Pt 4700 had the observation of the entire Drass valley and dominated the national highway. The attack by 2 Raj Rif and 18 Garh Rif commenced at 2030 hrs on 28 June 1999. The Charlie and Delta companies of 18 Garh Rif left the firm base at 2030 hrs and 2050 hrs respectively. The move from the firm base to the objective was very challenging as the enemy continuously engaged with the advancing troops with artillery and automatic weapons. As part of the leading section of 'Charlie Company' tasked with attacking Point 4700, Rfn Kuldeep Singh was part of the attacking troops. The objective was heavily fortified, and the advancing troops were coming under intense automatic fire. With eight sangars firing automatic guns, the target was well-defended. The leading Section came under heavy automatic fire from a nearby sangar as it approached the objective.
Rfn Kuldeep Singh moved through boulders from the left flank to neutralize the sangar, oblivious to his own safety. A gunshot struck him in the leg. Undeterred, he continued to advance, bleeding heavily and shooting his rifle from the hip and yelling the war cry. When the enemy saw this strong and decisive action, they fled the sangar and began firing indiscriminately. Rfn Kuldeep Singh killed three attackers and injured two more during the firefight. However while doing so, he got hit by a bullet in his head and got severely injured. He soon succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Aided by the exceptional valour and determination of Rfn Kuldeep Singh and his comrades, 18 Garh Rif captured both Pt 4700 and Tommy by 0400 hrs on 29 June 1999. Having put the enemy off balance the plan for Phase-II operation was modified to capture Rocky and Sangar by the evening of 29 June 1999. With direct support from Bofors guns 18 Garh Rif troops went on to capture the objectives by 1930 hrs on 29 June 1999. Besides Rfn Kuldeep Singh, thirteen other soldiers of 18 Garhwal Rifles were martyred during this entire operation. The other brave hearts martyred on 29 June 1999, included Hav Padam Ram, Lance Hav Jagat Singh, Nk Rakesh Kumar, Naik Bharat Singh, Naik Mangat Singh, Naik Kashmir Singh, Lance Naik Kishan Singh, Rfn Narpal Singh, Rfn AP Dhyani, Rfn Bikram Singh, and Rfn Man Singh. Two other soldiers, Lance Naik Surman Singh and Rfn Dabal Singh were later martyred on 30 Jun 1999. Rfn Kuldeep Singh was a valiant and committed soldier who laid down his life at the age of 23 years in the line of his duty. Rfn Kuldeep Singh was awarded “Vir Chakra” posthumously for his commendable bravery, indomitable fighting spirit, and supreme sacrifice.
Rfn Kuldeep Singh Rawat is survived by his wife Smt Suman Rawat.
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