Sepoy Kuldeep Kumar

Sepoy Kuldeep Kumar hailed from Dida Sainian village in Dinanagar Tehsil in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab and was born on 26 Jan 1981. Son of Shri Bant Ram and Smt Mohindro Devi, he completed his 12th class from Govt Senior Secondary School Dinanagar (Punjab).  After completing his school education he joined the Indian army in March 2000 at the age of 19 years. He was recruited into the 6 Dogra battalion of the Dogra Regiment, an infantry regiment known for its gallant soldiers and numerous battle honours. After serving for a couple of years with his parent unit, in Apr 2003 he was deputed to serve with the 11 Rashtriya Rifles battalion deployed in J&K for counter-insurgency operations. By that time, Sep Kuldeep Kumar had put in around 3 years of service and developed into a tough and dedicated soldier. 

Doda Operation - 08 Nov 2003

During May 2003, Sep Kuldeep Kumar's unit 11 RR was deployed in the Doda district of J&K. As a number of militants were active in the unit’s AOR(Area of Responsibility), the unit troops had to maintain a very high state of preparedness at all times and had to undertake operations at a short notice. Based on the information from intelligence sources, about the presence of some hardcore militants in Nidgaon village in the unit's AOR, the security forces decided to launch an operation on 8th Nov 2003. Sep Kuldeep Kumar of Doda was part of the team from 11RR that was assigned the task of this operation. 

Sep Kuldeep Kumar and his comrades reached the suspected village and cordoned off the area. As the operation was underway the terrorists hiding in the area attacked the troops to break the cordon and flee. A fierce gun battle ensued thereafter with heavy exchange of fire from both sides. Sep Kuldeep Kumar displaying commendable courage fought valiantly along with his soldiers. However, during the fierce exchange of fire, Sep Kuldeep Kumar received a gun shot with the bullet piercing his chest. He soon succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Sep Kuldeep Kumar was a brave and dedicated soldier, who laid down his life at the age of 22 years in the line of his duty. 

Sep Kuldeep Kumar is survived by his father Shri Bant Ram and mother Smt Mohindro Devi.