Rifleman Shyamal Das

Rfn Shyamal Das hailed from Khargram village of Murshidabad district in West Bengal. Son of Shri Dhirendra Das and Smt Madhavi Das, he was inclined to join the Army since his younger days and kept working towards it. Eventually, he joined the Assam Rifles in the year 2010. He was recruited into 46 Assam Rif battalion of Assam Rifles, the oldest para-military force of India with its headquarters at Shillong.

After serving for sometime, Rfn Shyamal Das got married to Ms Suparna and the couple had a daughter Diya. By 2021, Rfn Shyamal Das had put in about 11 years of service and developed into a committed soldier. In 2021, his battalion was engaged in defending the Indo-Myanmar border as well as conducting counter-insurgency operations in the North East states. 

Manipur ambush: 13 Nov 2021

During Nov 2021, Rfn Shyamal Das's unit 46 Assam Rif battalion, was deployed in Manipur for counter-insurgency operations. There had been increased militant activity in the border region of Manipur since the early part of the year 2021 and in response to this, the Army and paramilitary forces had been conducting coordinated operations along the 1,643-km of an unfenced border between Manipur and Myanmar. On 13 Nov 2021, Rfn Shyamal Das and his comrades along with their Commanding Officer Col Viplav Tripathi were returning to their battalion headquarters at Khuga after a visit to the unit's forward operating base in Behiang area near India-Myanmar border. Rfn Shyamal Das  was part of the quick reaction team that was moving in a four vehicle convoy.

However, as the convoy reached Sehkan village in Churachandpur district of Manipur, the militants of PLA (People's Liberation Army) and MNPF (Manipur Naga People's Front) launched a surprise attack in a pre-planned move. At around 1030 hrs in the morning, the militants first detonated an IED and followed it up with indiscriminate firing from vantage points in the surrounding forested area. The attack was very sudden and devastating, giving no time for the soldiers to take any action. Consequently Col Viplav Tripathi, Shyamal Das and three other soldiers lost their lives in this dastardly attack. Besides Rfn Shyamal Das and his CO, the other martyred soldiers included Rfn Khatnei Konyak, Rfn RP Meena and Rfn Suman Swargiari. Rfn Shyamal Das was a brave and motivated soldier, who laid down his life in the line of his duty. 

Rfn Shyamal Das is survived by his father Shri Dhirendra Das, mother Smt Madhavi Das, wife Smt Suparna Das and daughter Diya.