Sepoy Suresh Chhetri

Sepoy Suresh Chhetri hailed from Kilaramjote village in Naxalbari tehsil of Darjeeling district in West Bengal and was born on 04 Dec 1974. Son of Shri Tilak Bahadur Chhetri and Smt Manmaya Chhetri, he was third among six brothers. He had five brothers, Mahesh Chhetri, Naresh Thapa Chhetri, Sudesh Chhetri, Umesh Chhetri, and Netraraj Chhetri as his siblings. Inspired by his two elders who served in the 2 Naga Regiment, he too wanted to serve in the Armed Forces since his younger days. Consequently, after completing his school education he joined the army on 11 Dec 1993 at the age of 19 years.

He was recruited into the 2nd Battalion of the Naga Regiment, one of the youngest regiments of the Indian Army. The second battalion (2 Naga) was raised on 11 February 1985 at  Haldwani, with the motto of the regiment being Parakramo vijayate meaning "Valour triumphs" and the battle cry being Jai Durga Naga meaning "Victory to Durga Naga". Following into the footsteps of Sepoy Suresh Chhetri, his younger brother too joined the Army and was recruited into the Kumoan Regiment. After serving for sometime, Sepoy Suresh Chhetri got married to Ms Manju hailing from Jhapa in Nepal, in the year 1996. The couple was blessed with a son on 04 Nov 1999, nearly four months after the martyrdom of Sepoy Suresh Chhetri and was named Suman Suresh Kargil Chhetri. 

Battle of Point 4875 (Kargil War): 05-07 Jul 1999

During July 1999, Sep Suresh Chhetri’s unit 2 Naga was deployed in the Drass sector of J & K along the LOC. In May 1999, the Indian Army detected a massive infiltration by the Pakistani military and paramilitary forces in the Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Army quickly mobilized its forces to drive out the Pakistani infiltrators from Indian territory and launched "Operation Vijay". By 05 July 1999, Indian Army had carried out many successful operations and reoccupied various militarily significant positions. After the capture of the 'Tiger Hill' on 05 July 1999, the next major objective was to capture Point 4875, a feature which dominated the national highway from Mugalpur to Drass, a stretch of approximately 30 km. A feature called 'Rocky Knob' linked it with 'Tiger Hill' and provided an approach to the main administrative base of the enemy. Pt 4875 was divided into many parts which was held by the enemy and included Whale back, Pimple 1 and Pimple 2, Pt 4875 Southern Slope, and Flat Top and the Northern side was named as Twin Bumps and Saddle. The attack was planned in two phases with the elements of 17 Jat, 12 Mahar, 13 JAK Rif, 21 Para(SF) and 2 Naga. 

In Phase-I, 17 Jat was to capture 'Pimple 1' and 'Whale Back' from the south by 05 July. 13 JAK Rif was to capture 'South Spur' from southeast in the same timeframe. In Phase 2, 17 Jat battalion was to capture 'Pimple 2' and 13 JAK Rif was to capture 'Flat Top' by 07 July. 2 Naga battalion was to capture 'Twin Bumps' by first light of 07 July and exploit towards northwest. After successful achievement of objective in Phase 1, the Phase 2 commenced on the night of 05/06 July with Sep Suresh Chhetri and his comrades launching a fierce attack on enemy positions. Despite stiff enemy opposition, Sep Suresh Chhetri and other soldiers of 2 Naga made steady progress and captured the objective as planned by 07 July. Subsequently the capture of 'Twin Bumps' by 2 Naga enabled them to launch a raid on enemy mortar position and destroyed it. This firm base was again used to launch attack on 'Rocky Knob' 'Hump' and 'Tip' by 2 Naga battalion. Thus the capture of 'Twin Bumps' by Sep Suresh Chhetri and his comrades played a pivotal role in success of subsequent operations. However, during the battle Sep Suresh Chhetri and many of his comrades got seriously injured and later succumbed to their injuries. Besides Sep Suresh Chhetri, the other martyred soldiers of 2 Naga during the entire operation included, Hav Molan Pun Nagar, Naik HB Ghale, Naik Devender Singh, Naik Anand Singh, Lance Naik SC Prasad, Sep S Gerneithang, Sep Sanjay Gurung, Sep RK Pradhan, Sep Mohan Singh, Sep Rajesh Gurung, Sep Kailash Kumar, Sep NGBB Mayon, Sep Himmat Singh, Sep Kishan Singh, and Sep Jai Singh Negi.  

Thus the Battle of Point 4875 was one of the most significant battles, where Sep Suresh Chhetri fought valiantly and achieved the objective at the cost of his life. Sep Suresh Chhetri was a valiant and committed soldier, who led from the front and laid down his life at the age of 25 years in the line of his duty. Sep Suresh Chhetri is survived by his wife Smt Manju and son Shri Suman Suresh Kargil Chhetri who is currently studying medicine and aims to join the Army Medical Corps to carry forward the legacy of his father. 

• The chowk in his native village has Sepoy Suresh Chhetri’s statue in the Shaheed Smarak dedicated to him in his honour.
•  A primary school in the village has also been named after Sepoy Suresh Chhetri in his memory.