Sowar Chandan Kumar

Sowar Chandan Kumar hailed from Naromurar village of the Nawada district in Bihar. Son of Shri Mauleshar Singh and Smt Jayanti Devi, Swr Chandan Kumar was second among three brothers, with elder brother Jeevan Kumar and younger brother Abhinandan as his siblings. Like many young people in Bihar, Swr Chandan Kumar was too inclined to serve in the Armed Forces since his younger days. Following his passion, he eventually joined the Army in 2017 and was recruited into the 89 Armoured Regiment of the Armoured Corps, a Corps well known for its powerful tanks and other heavy weaponry.

In May 2022, Swr Chandan Kumar got married to Ms Shilpi Kumari. After serving with his parent regiment for quite some time, he was deputed to serve with the 48 RR battalion deployed in J&K for counter-insurgency operations.  By the year 2023, he had put in around 06 years of service and developed into a dedicated and professionally competent soldier. 

Poonch Operation (J&K) : 20/21 Dec 2023

During Dec 2023, Swr Chandan Kumar’s unit 48 RR was deployed in the Poonch district of J&K and was engaged in operations against the militants frequently. As the unit’s AOR(Area of Responsibility) was prone to infiltration by the militants, the unit troops had to maintain a high state of alert at all times. The unit undertook operations regularly in its AOR to check the infiltration and one such operation was assigned to the unit on 20 Dec 2023.  Swr Chandan Kumar was made part of the team that was tasked to undertake that operation. On 21 Dec 2023, Swr Chandan Kumar and his comrades set off for the suspected site for a search and cordon operation in Surankote tehsil of Poonch district.

However, as the convoy carrying the soldiers was on its way, the suspected terrorists carried out an attack on two Army vehicles – a gypsy and a truck on the road between Dera-Ki-Gali (DKG) and Buffliaz areas in Surankote tehsil. The heavily armed terrorists ambushed the Army vehicles at a blind curve at Dhatyar Morh between Dhera Ki Gali and Bufliaz under the jurisdiction of the Surankote police station at around 3.45 pm. It appeared that the Pakistan-sponsored terrorists in a pre-planned move, were waiting in the hideout to ambush the troops in the vehicles and carry out their sinister plan. The terrorists had chosen that place to attack as the stretch between Dhera Ki Gali and Bufliaz on the boundary of Rajouri and Poonch districts was densely forested and led to Chamrer forest and then Bhata Dhurian forest, which provided safe escape routes. The sudden attack had a devastating effect and as a result, many soldiers got severely injured. Swr Chandan Kumar and three other soldiers soon succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. One more soldier too later succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. Besides Swr Chandan Kumar, the other three martyred brave hearts included Naik Karan Kumar, Naik Birendra Singh, and Sowar Gautam Kumar. Sowar Chandan Kumar was a gallant and committed soldier, who had laid down his life in the line of his duty.

Sowar Chandan Kumar is survived by his father Shri Mauleshar Singh, mother Smt Jayanti Devi, wife Smt Shilpi Kumari, and brothers Shri Jeevan Kumar & Shri Abhinandan.