Service No : 2614709X
Place of birth : Mysuru, (KA)
Service : Army
Last Rank : Sepoy
Unit : 19 Madras
Arm/Regt : The Madras Regiment
Operation : CI & IS Ops
Martyrdom : February 3, 2016
Sepoy Mahesha PN hailed from Mysore in Karnataka and was enrolled into 19th Battalion of the Madras Regiment on October 10, 2005. In a career spanning 11 years, Sep Mahesha also served in ‘Operation Rhino’’ from 2009 to 2012, where he was actively involved in counterinsurgency operations. He again volunteered to serve with Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir from Feb 2012 to June 2014, where he displayed indomitable courage in fighting the terrorists and was part of many successful operations. He displayed a keen interest in mountaineering skills which made him an apt volunteer to serve in High Altitude Area of Siachen Glacier with effect from Aug 2015. He was also a sharpshooter of the Battalion.
Sonam Post Avalanche: 03 Feb 2016
During 2015-16, Sep Mahesha’s unit 19 Madras battalion was deployed in Siachen area under the command of Col Um Bahadur Gurung. In Dec 2015, Sep Mahesha along with 9 other personnel were chosen to man the Sonam post, one of the highest manned military posts in the world atop Saltoro Ridge. The post that overlooked Siachen Glacier to the east and Pakistani occupied territories to the west was prone to devastating avalanches with extreme weather conditions. Besides Sep Mahesha, the other soldiers of the team included Sub Nagesha TT, Hav Elumalai , L Hav S Kumar, Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad, Lance Naik Sudheesh B, Sep Ganesan G, Sep Rama Moorthy N, Sep Mustaq Ahmed S and Sep Sunil Suryawanshi. On the glacier, the soldiers contested an area where they had to deal with altitude sickness, high winds, frostbite and temperatures as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit). The rigorously trained soldiers needed to highly skilled in survival and sustenance. Besides the enemy fire, the soldiers had to brave the most unforgiving weather accompanied frequently by sudden avalanches and landslides. One such monstrous avalanche struck Sonam post in the morning of 03 Feb 2016.
Formed by enormous sized block of snow fracturing away form the mountain, it buried the post up to 25 feet deep snow in few seconds. Although the Army had a unit of the Snow Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) in Jammu and Kashmir, with several observatories at various locations to issue warnings and alerts to the Army formations and units, it could not detect this avalanche and the cause also could not be known. Sep Mahesha and 9 other soldiers got trapped under 25 feet of snow at an altitude of 20,500 feet. A massive rescue operation was launched by the Army which continued for 6 days to locate and rescue the trapped soldiers. The rescue operations were carried out by specialized teams of the Army and the Air Force which were being coordinated from Leh and Udhampur. The teams of Army and the Air Force undertook massive rescue operations under extreme weather conditions but could not save the life of this brave soldier. The nation will remain grateful to Sep Mahesha for his courage and supreme sacrifice.
Meenal Joshi
2022 at 11:32 amYour sacrifice will always be remembered and you will remain a hero for countless Indians. I salute you. Jai Hind
Rajendra
2022 at 11:32 amOur gratitude to the real heroes