SEA-I RN Sahadevan

SEA-I RN Sahadevan hailed from Kerala. After passing his initial schooling, he joined the Navy and was recruited into the Indian Navy as a Sailor. He got trained as a technician and got posted to INS Khukri.

Indian Naval Operations (Indo-Pak War) : 09 Dec 1971

During Dec 1971 SEA-I RN Sahadevan was serving aboard INS Khukri. When the Indo-Pak War of 1971 broke out, the anti submarine frigates of the Navy, INS Khukri and INS Kirpan were given the responsibility of hunting and neutralizing enemy submarines in the North Arabian Sea. The Indian Naval radio detection equipment identified a submarine in the vicinity of Diu harbour on 03rd Dec 1971.  Following this, INS Khukri along with two other ships INS Kirpan and INS Kuthar were dispatched to take on the threat of the enemy submarine.

In the late evening of 9^th December, INS Khukri was attacked by the Pakistani submarine PNS Hangor which fired torpedoes at it, causing devastating damage. The Captain of the ship, Capt Mulla evaluated the situation within minutes and issued orders for its abandonment. There were two massive explosions inside the Khukri and the ship went dark. It lost all power and began to tilt steeply to its right (Starboard) as chaos followed the order of ‘abandon ship’. Within a short span of time,  the ship was hit by another torpedo. As the damage to the ship was extensive, a large number of officers and sailors did not get adequate time to follow the orders of their captain. Eventually the ship went down along with 18 officers and 176 sailors. SEA-I RN Sahadevan was one of the brave-hearts who laid down his life in the line of his duty. SEA-I RN Sahadevan was a valiant soldier and committed sailor, who made the supreme sacrifice following the highest traditions of Indian Navy.