Sep Kundan Kumar SM

Sepoy Kundan Kumar hailed from Aran in Saharsa district of Bihar.  After completing his education, he joined the Indian Army in 2012 at the age of 19 years. He was recruited into 16 Bihar battalion of the Bihar Regiment, an infantry Regiment well known for its intrepid soldiers and numerous battle exploits. In the year 2013, he got married to Ms. Baby Devi from Madhepura district of Bihar and the couple had two sons, Roshan and Rana. By the year 2020, he had put in around 8 years of service and had served in various operational areas.

Operation Snow Leopard: 15 June 2020

During June 2020, Sep Kundan Kumar’s unit was deployed in eastern Ladakh close to the Line of Actual Control(LAC) as part of Operation Snow Leopard. Since early June the tension along the LAC was building up due to construction work in Galwan valley close to the road going from Leh to Daulat Beg Oldie. The Chinese had a serious objection to the construction of a bridge across the Galwan river into the Aksai Chin area. The area held strategic importance to India as well as China as it dominated the road from Leh to Daulat Beg Oldie an airstrip of great military significance to India. There had been many rounds of talks between senior military officials from both sides to diffuse the tensions. On 15 June 2020 night, hectic Chinese activities were noticed across the bridge in Galwan valley and the Indian Army decided to take up the matter with Chinese forces to ask them to respect the LAC and adhere to the position as agreed earlier during the talks.

Considering the gravity of the situation, Col Santosh Babu the Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar battalion deployed in the area decided to lead the negotiations. However, an altercation during the discussion raised the tempers leading to a scuffle. Soon the scuffle turned into a violent clash with the Chinese soldiers attacking Col Santosh Babu and his men with deadly clubs and rods. The Indian soldiers were greatly outnumbered and the Chinese soldiers seemed to be prepared for the attack. As the clashes escalated, Sep Kundan Kumar and other soldiers from the battalion too joined the beleaguered Indian troops to take on the Chinese soldiers. The clashes went on for many hours during which many Indian soldiers including Sep Kundan Kumar got seriously injured. Sep Kundan Kumar, the CO, Col Santosh Babu, and 18 other soldiers later succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. The other brave hearts included Nk Deepak Kumar, Nb Sub Mandeep Singh, Nb Sub Nanduram Soren, Nb Sub Satnam Singh, Hav K Palani, Hav Bipul Roy, Hav Sunil Kumar, Sep Ganesh Hansda, Sep Ganesh Ram, Sep Chandan Kumar, Sep CK Pradhan, Sep Gurbinder Singh, Sep Aman Kumar, Sep Rajesh Orang, Sep KK Ojha, Sep Jai Kishore Singh, Sep Gurtej Singh, and Sep Ankush. Sep Kundan Kumar was a valiant and dedicated soldier who laid down his life at the age of 27 years in the line of his duty. Sep Kundan Kumar was given the gallantry award, “Sena Medal” on 26 Jan 2021 for his outstanding courage, devotion to duty, and supreme sacrifice.

Sep Kundan Kumar is survived by his wife Smt Baby Devi and two sons Roshan Kumar & Rana Kumar.