Operation Rangdouri Behak - Courage and Misfortune

This is the story behind Operation Rangdouri Behak, which was launched on 4th April this year in Keran Sector of the Kashmir Valley on an input of suspicious movement in that region.

The First Interception - 

So, it all started after ceasefire violation midnight between 1st and 2nd April, following this a group of terrorists was intercepted who managed to sneak into our territory the troops were alerted, patrolling and sighting was increased. The search party of 8 Jat noticed some footprints and followed them and had a brief contact at around 4:30 pm on 3rd April but the terrorists managed to escape later another contact was established on 4th April but despite of multiple face off with soldiers stationed in that area they managed to escape.

The search operation was still going on suddenly, army with the help of motion sensing drones picked up some images and coordinates of the terrorists in Keran Sector which had difficult terrains covered with heavy snow that could restrict the movement of regular units stationed there but fortunately it was under operational area of the Elite Para Special Forces which helped in quick insertion of Special Forces in the operation.

Two squads of 4 Para SF including Paratrooper Bal Krishan, Havildar Davendra Singh, Paratrooper Amit Kumar, Subedar Sanjiv Kumar and Paratrooper Chhatrapal Singh who were stationed in the nearby areas were tasked to seek and eliminate the militants. The commandos were air dropped from helicopter, the landing site was covered with snow upto chest and it took nearly half and hour for the commandos to get out from there with the gears after which they started their tactical movement.

The final face-off -

Subedar Sanjeev Kumar who leading the first squad spotted some fresh footsteps and followed the trail, by saturday evening they were able to close on the terrorists in the forests near Jumgund village. Subedar Sanjiv Kumar with Paratrooper Amit and Chhatarpal began cornering the terrorists, in doing the same they moved over a snow covered cornice of the mountain, unaware of the danger as they stepped over the cornice it broke and all three of them fell straight into a frozen nallah, unfortunately it was the same place where the terrorists were hidden.

The incident took everyone by surprise as they came face to face the whole area litup with gun flashes as both sides opened fire, on hearing the gunshots the remaining two commandos also rushed toward the nullah and jumped in, they tried to rescue their comrades but came under direct fire, together they all fought an intense close quarter fight which ended up with killing of the entire batch of five terrorists.

Body of Amit Kumar who took 15 bullet shots was found on the dead body of a terrorist which is enough to give you an idea of what happened there, in the dazzling display of action three commandos were martyred on the site and other two were severely injured. Few metres away from the site the body of fifth terrorist was found who was shot in back, our bravehearts fought till their last breath and didn't allowed anyone to escape.

The Indian Army launched a massive rescue operation but the weather conditions and dense terrain proved major hindrance later on sunday the other two commandos also succumbed to their injuries at Army Hospital in Srinagar.

Here is the exclusive video in which one sf Operator who was part of the mission describe the events -

Video Presentation of the Operation

The bodies of the five terrorists were recovered alongwith five AK-47s, two Under Barrel Grenade Launchers, two pistols, satellite radio communication equipments, medicines, and pre-cooked food in packets with pakistani branding.

The Martyrs -

1- Subedar Sanjeev Kumar from Himachal Pradesh, his son Tanishq who is just 13 studies in Hamirpur Public School.

2- Paratrooper Chhatarpal Singh from Chhawashri village of Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan had joined army in 2015 at an age of 18 and served for five years as a reddevil.

3- Havaldar Devender Singh from Uttarakhand, he had two kids Ayush and Anchal, they study in Army School.

4- Paratrooper Bal Krishan from Bhuntar in Himachal Pradesh. Here is a heartening image in which a soldier hugs his mother .

5- Paratrooper Amit Kumar from Anaith (Kwala) village in Pauri, Uttarakhand. He is survived by his mother and two elder sisters, he was to get married in October this year.

We salute the all bravehearts and its their sacrifice and selfless passion to serve the country that allows us to enjoy the kind of safe and fun life we live, day after day and yet cry for petty inconveniences.

Jai Hind !