Sepoy Harkrishan Singh

Sepoy Harkrishan Singh hailed from Talwandi Barth village of Gurdaspur district in Punjab and was born in the year 1996. Son of an Army veteran, Naik Mangal Singh and Smt Pyar Kaur, he had two brothers Ranjit Singh & Avtar Singh and two sisters Sarvjeet Kaur & Ritu Kaur as his siblings. He wanted to serve in the Armed Forces since his childhood like his father and eventually joined the Indian Army at the age of 20 years in the year 2017 after completing his school education. He was recruited into the 16 Sikh LI Battalion of the Sikh Light Infantry Regiment, a regiment well known for its gallant soldiers.

After serving for some time, Sep Harkrishan Singh got married to Ms Daljeet Kaur in the year 2019 and the couple had a daughter Khushpreet. Later he was deputed to serve with the 49 RR Battalion, deployed in J&K for counter-insurgency operations. By the year 2023, Sep Harkrishan Singh had put in around 6 years of service and had served in various challenging operational areas. 

Poonch Terrorist Attack (J& K): 20 Apr 2023

During 2023, Sep Harkrishan Singh‘s unit, 49 RR battalion was deployed in the Poonch district of J&K. The unit troops were engaged in operations against the terrorists on a regular basis as the unit's area of responsibility (AOR) was active with militancy. The volatility of its AOR demanded 'high alert' at all times on the part of the troops. The area was also prone to infiltration, which necessitated regular armed patrols to check any infiltration from across the border. The battalion followed strict SOPs(Standard Operating Procedures) while moving its men and material by deploying road-opening teams to conduct sanitization of the area. On 20 Apr 2023, Sep Harkrishan Singh and a few other soldiers were detailed to move to Sangiot from Bhimber Gali in Poonch district for an operational task. After clearance by the road-opening party (ROP), as planned Sep Harkrishan Singh and his comrades set off for Sangiot in the afternoon of 20 Apr.

However, at around 1500 hrs, when their vehicle reached Bhata Dhurian, just a few kilometers from LOC, they came under attack by the terrorists. It was a pre-planned move by the terrorists who apparently had done the reconnaissance of the area and planned to attack at the time of their choosing. The heavily armed group of terrorists used grenades, automatic weapons, and sticky bombs too, in an attempt to cause maximum damage. The army truck carrying the soldiers was fired upon from three sides, with the terrorists taking advantage of poor visibility and bad weather conditions. The attack was so sudden and ferocious that Sep Harkrishan Singh and his comrades did not have adequate time to take any action. The vehicle also caught fire after a targeted attack on its fuel tank. The resultant fire entrapped the soldiers and they got severely injured.  As a result Sep Harkrishan Singh and four other soldiers soon succumbed to their injuries and were martyred.  Besides Sep Harkrishan Singh, the other martyred brave hearts included, Hav Mandeep Singh, Lance Naik Debashish Baswal, Lance Naik Kulwant Singh, and Sep Sewak Singh. Sep Harkrishan Singh was a fearless and committed soldier, who laid down his life at the age of 27 years in the line of his duty. Sep Harkrishan Singh was awarded 'Mention-in-Despatches" (Posthumously) for his commendable courage, devotion to duty and supreme sacrifice. 

Sep Harkrishan Singh is survived by his father an army veteran Naik Mangal Singh, mother Smt Pyar Kaur, wife Smt Daljeet Kaur, daughter Khushpreet, two brothers Shri Ranjit Singh & Shri Avtar Singh and two sisters Ms Sarvjeet Kaur & Ms Ritu Kaur.