Sepoy Dharambeer Singh

Sepoy Dharambeer Singh hailed from  Malupur village of Agra district in Uttar Pradesh and was born on 16 April 1980. Son of Shri Khajan Singh, he joined the Indian Army after completing his school education. He was recruited into 17 Jat of the well-known Jat Regiment, a Regiment widely respected for its gallant soldiers and numerous battle exploits. 

Operation Vijay (Kargil War): 29/30 May 1999

By April 1999, Pakistani forces among other hill features had also occupied Point 4875, in Mashkoh valley. The Mashkoh valley provided a possible route of infiltration into the Kashmir valley as well as into the Doda-Kishtwar-Bhadrewah areas of Jammu. Point 4875 dominated the Srinagar-Kargil-Leh national highway between Zozi La pass and Dras and had strategic importance for the Indian Army. Those manning the Pakistani artillery observation post at Point 4875 could easily spot convoys moving on the national highway and bring down artillery fire on them. Thus the clearance of Point 4875 became a high priority mission and the responsibility was given to 79 Mountain Brigade under Brig Ramesh Kakar. 17 Jat battalion was inducted into the Mashkoh valley on 26 May 1999 under the command of Col Umesh Singh Bawa. The battalion was tasked to capture Point 4540 as a prelude to the capture of Point 4875. Sep Dharambeer Singh as part of No 4 Platoon of the 'B' Company joined the team that was assigned the task of conducting this operation. 

Sep Dharambeer Singh along with other 37 soldiers led by Sub Harphool Singh set off for their objective as planned. The enemy forces were well entrenched and were keeping a close watch on the movement of Indian soldiers. By 4 am on 30 May 1999,  Sep Dharambeer Singh and his comrades had reached very near to the enemy bunker and when they were about 100 meters from the bunker the enemy soldiers launched the attack. Sep Dharambeer Singh and other soldiers quickly swung into action and retaliated forcefully. A fierce gun battle followed thereafter with heavy exchange of fire. While advancing, under heavy automatic fire and enemy shelling, Sep Dharambeer Singh crawled towards an enemy post, when suddenly a burst from an automatic, till now silent, seriously injured him. Despite being seriously wounded, he kept engaging the enemy till, he was hit by an enemy rocket-propelled grenade and succumbed to his injuries.

Eventually, the soldiers of the 17 Jat Battalion managed to destroy the enemy bunkers and capture the given objective. The capture of Point 4540 was very important which eventually paved the way for the capture of the strategically significant Point 4875. Sep Dharambeer Singh displayed commendable courage and devotion to duty during the operation and laid down his life at the age of 19 years in the line of his duty. Besides Sep Dharambeer Singh, the other martyred brave hearts included Sub Harphool Singh, Sep Vinod Kumar Naga, Sep Gajpal Singh, Sep Ranveer Singh, and Sep Krishan Kumar. Unfortunately, Sep Dharambeer Singh’s body could be recovered many days after the operation and was cremated with full military honors. Sep Dharambeer Singh was given the “Mention-in-Despatches” award for his outstanding gallantry, and supreme sacrifice. 

The citation for "Mention-in-Despatches" awarded to him reads:

No 3190075N Sep Dharambeer Singh of B Coy,17 Jat had been serving in the battalion for the last 2 years and 5 months. He was part of the number 4 platoon, which was tasked to exploit rocky knob after capture of point 4540. While advancing, under heavy automatic fire and enemy shelling, Sep Dharambeer Singh crawled towards an enemy post when suddenly a burst from an automatic, till now silent, seriously injured him. Despite personal injuries, he kept engaging the enemy till he was hit by an enemy rocket-propelled grenade and succumbed to his injuries.