Subedar Sita Ram Patil VrC

Subedar Sita Ram Patil was born in Shiroli village in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra on 26th November 1941. He joined the Army after his school education and was recruited into 18 Garhwal Rifles of the Garhwal Rifles Regiment, one of the most decorated regiments of Indian Army.  In the year 1987, Sub Sita Ram’s unit was sent to Sri Lanka as part of IPKF contingent.

Op Pawan : 20 Oct 1987

The IPKF launched its first operation on 9 October 1987 after formulating a multi-pronged strategy to take on LTTE. Code-named Operation Op Pawan, it was expected to neutralize LTTE operational capability in and around Jaffna. This included the capture or neutralization of the LTTE’s chain of command, which was expected to leave the rebel movement directionless in the face of the impending assault on the LTTE strongholds by the IPKF. Ultimately, after two weeks of bitter fighting the IPKF wrested control of Jaffna and other major cities from the LTTE, but operations continued for the capture of Jaffna Fort.

By Oct 1987, Sub Sita Ram’s unit was operating deep inside Sri Lanka and was in thick of combat operations. As the battle for Jaffna progressed, the IPKF advance came under intense and vicious opposition from the LTTE Tigers. Fighting in built-up and an as-yet unevacuated Jaffna, the Indian High Command insisted that the slow advance was, in addition to Tiger resistance, more a result of reluctance on the part of the IPKF to use heavy weaponry to clear LTTE defenses. On October 15/16 the IPKF stopped its advance to stabilize the front. Palay, the major operations headquarters for the 54th Infantry Division, was also secured from Tiger attacks. At this time the IAF undertook a massive airlift to reinforce the 91st with three brigades and heavy equipment, including T-72 tanks. Now reinforced, the IPKF resumed the battle for Jaffna on 17 Oct.  On 20Oct 1987, Sub Sita Ram’s unit was tasked to link with Jaffna fort.