Sepoy Hari Singh SC

Sep Hari Singh hailed from Rewari district of Haryana and was born on 15 August 1993 into a proud and disciplined family. He was the son of Army veteran Agadi Singh, whose service background and values of duty and patriotism deeply influenced him from an early age. Growing up in a large family as the third among five siblings, he developed a strong sense of responsibility, resilience, and teamwork. Inspired by his father’s military career, Sep Hari Singh chose to serve the nation and joined the Indian Army at the young age of 18 in 2011. Upon recruitment, he was inducted into the 20th Battalion of the Grenadiers Regiment, one of the Army’s most distinguished infantry regiments known for its courage and operational excellence. During his initial years of service, he underwent rigorous training and steadily built his professional skills, discipline, and fieldcraft. Through dedication and consistent performance, he evolved into a dependable and committed soldier. By 2019, he had completed around eight years of service and had gained valuable operational experience.

After serving with his parent battalion for several years, Sep Hari Singh was deputed to the 55 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion, which was deployed in Jammu & Kashmir for counterinsurgency operations. This tenure placed him in demanding operational conditions, requiring constant alertness, courage, and adaptability while operating in sensitive and high-risk areas. On the personal front, Sep Hari Singh married Ms. Radha Bai in 2016. The couple was blessed with a son, Laksha Chauhan. Despite the challenges of military life and frequent field deployments, he remained devoted to his family while continuing to uphold his professional responsibilities with sincerity and pride.

Pulwama Operation: 18 Feb 2019

During 2018–2019, Sepoy Ajay Kumar and Sepoy Hari Singh were serving with 55 Rashtriya Rifles, deployed in the Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir for counter-insurgency duties. The area remained highly volatile, with a sustained militant presence and frequent security operations, requiring constant vigilance, rapid response, and precise intelligence-based action. The unit was regularly engaged in coordinated search and cordon missions aimed at locating and neutralising terrorist groups operating in the region. Following the terrorist attack on a CRPF convoy on 14 February 2019, the security grid across the Kashmir Valley was placed on heightened alert. Multiple joint operations were launched to trace the perpetrators and dismantle their support networks. In this tense operational environment, on 17 February 2019, security agencies received credible intelligence regarding the presence of terrorists in Pinglan village in the Kakapora area of Pulwama district — a location also linked to the suicide attacker involved in the convoy strike. Considering the urgency and sensitivity of the input, a swift and carefully coordinated search-and-destroy operation was planned and launched on the night of 17–18 February 2019.

Acting on the intelligence, security forces established a tight cordon around the suspected area to prevent any escape and began a systematic search. Sepoy Hari Singh, along with Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal, was part of the leading assault element and advanced from the front, fully aware of the high risk involved. While clearing a cow shed within the target zone, the concealed terrorists suddenly opened heavy and indiscriminate fire at close range. In the initial burst, Sepoy Hari Singh sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Despite being critically injured, he displayed exceptional composure and battlefield presence of mind. Refusing to withdraw, he immediately returned fire and held his ground, thereby preventing the terrorists from breaking the cordon. Showing complete disregard for his personal safety, he repositioned himself closer to the structure to obtain a better firing angle and continued to engage the terrorists under intense hostile fire. During the fierce exchange, he successfully neutralised one foreign terrorist and injured another. He continued fighting until he succumbed to his injuries at the operation site, making the supreme sacrifice at the age of 25 years in the line of duty. Sepoy Hari Singh’s actions reflected conspicuous courage, extraordinary determination, and unwavering devotion to duty under extreme danger. In recognition of his gallantry and supreme sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the "Shaurya Chakra", the nation’s third-highest peacetime gallantry award.

Sep Hari Singh is survived by his wife Smt Radha Bai and son Laksha Chauhan.

The citation for "Shaurya  Chakra" awarded to him reads:

On night of 17 and 18 February 2019, based on input regarding the presence of a terrorist groups in a village in Jammu & Kashmir.

Sepoy Late Hari Singh along with Major Late Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal led the search from the front. While searching a cow shed, terrorists opened indiscriminate fire resulting in multiple gunshots injury to the individual. Despite being injured, maintaining his tactical composure, Sepoy Late Hari Singh retaliated fire immediately and did not allow terrorists to escape. Exhibiting utter disregard for his safety, Sepoy Hari Singh re-adjusted his position close to the cow shed in the line of fire to bring effective fire on hiding terrorists. Subsequently, when terrorists moved out of the cow sheds firing indiscriminately, Sepoy Hari Singh brought down heavy fire on terrorists and eliminated one terrorist and inflicted injuries to one more terrorist and attained martyrdom while fighting with terrorists at the operation site.  The terrorist eliminated was identified as a foreign terrorist.

For display of conspicuous courage and unparalleled devotion to duty, Sepoy Hari Singh is recommended for the award of “SHAURYA CHAKRA (POSTHUMOUS)”.