Vijit Kumar Singh, SC

Biography

Major Vijit Kumar Singh was born in Jhansi and hailed from the state of Uttar Pradesh. He was the son of an Army officer, Lt Col Murli Mohan Singh, who had served with 6 Field Regiment in the Regiment of Artillery. Inspired by his father, Vijit nursed the ambition of donning the olive green from his younger days. Following his passion, he was eventually commissioned into the Regiment of Artillery, the second-largest arm of the Indian Army, and was posted to 17 (Para) Field Regiment. During 2001, his unit was deployed in Assam for counter-insurgency operations, having been inducted into the insurgency-prone North Cachar Hill region and Jiribam in Manipur in 2000. Through this period the Regiment undertook relentless operations against militants with commendable results. On 4 October 2001, reports were received about the presence of NSCN(IM) cadres near the Assam-Manipur border, and a search-and-destroy operation was launched under Maj Vijit Kumar's leadership. Acting as the leading scout, he reached the designated area with his team and cordoned off the suspected location. As the search was underway, the patrol was ambushed by the insurgents. Displaying extraordinary temperament and steel nerves, Maj Vijit Kumar returned fire and charged towards the militants, killing one and injuring two, and forcing them from their positions. When one of the injured militants was about to shoot at his buddy, he charged forward and drew the fire onto himself. Though fatally wounded, he did not fall until he had killed the militants who posed a danger to his troops. For his extraordinary bravery, grit, fighting spirit and supreme sacrifice, Maj Vijit Kumar Singh was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously.