Place of birth : Nadia Dist (WB)

Service : Army

Last Rank : Sowar

Arm/Regt : The Armoured Corps

Martyrdom : October 6, 2022

Sowar Sukanta Mondal

Sowar Sukanta Mondal hailed from Nadia district in West Bengal.  He came from a farmer's family with modest means and grew up to be a hard working and responsible person.  After completing his school education, he joined the Indian army. He was recruited into 55 Armoured Regiment of the Armoured Corps, a Corps well known for its powerful tanks and other heavy weaponry. After completing his training he served in various operational areas and gained expertise in myriad tank operations.

 

Field Firing Exercise: 06 Oct 2022

 

During Oct 2022, Sowar Sukanta Mondal was serving with 55 Armd Regt, operating the T-90 Bhishma tank, one of the most powerful tanks in the world. Upgraded by a joint collaboration of Indian, Russian and French engineers, T-90 Bhishma was protected by both conventional armor-plating and explosive reactive armour.  Equipped with the Catherine-FC thermal sights and Kontakt-5 K-5 explosive reactive armor plates, T -90 Bhishma had a 125mm 2A46M smoothbore main gun that was stabilized in two axes and fitted with a thermal sleeve and 12.7 mm heavy gun. The T-90 Bhishma gun could also fire anti-tank guided missiles with a range of 100m – 4,000m. It could also engage low-flying air targets such as helicopters in the battle zone, at a range of up to 5km. The capabilities of the tanks under various operating conditions were regularly tested in filed firing exercises held at firing ranges. One such exercise was planned in Oct 2022 at firing range at Babina near Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh. Sowar Sukanta Mondal's unit 55 Rrmd Regt was tasked to be part of this exercise, which commenced on 01 Oct 2022.

 

On 06 Oct 2022, Sowar Sukanta Mondal as a crew member of the tank was tasked to join the field firing exercise along with his crew comprising Nb Ris Sumer Singh Bagaria as commander and Lance Dafadar Pradeep Sing Yadav as tank driver. As the firing was underway, at around 7 pm, the barrel of Sowar Sukanta Mondal's tank burst. The resultant blast had a devastating effect, severely injuring Sowar Sukanta Mondal and his crew members. They were immediately shifted to the military Hospital at Babina for medical treatment. However, Sowar Sukanta Mondal and Nb Ris Sumer Singh Bagaria succumbed to their burn injuries. Sowar Sukanta Mondal was a gallant and dedicated soldier, who laid down his life in the service of the nation.

 

Sowar Sukanta Mondal is survived by his parents.

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