Shekhar Ghosh, SC

Biography

Captain Shekhar Ghosh hailed from Barrackpore in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal and was born on 27 September 1975. The son of an army veteran, the late Lt Col Shankar Nath Ghosh, he spent his childhood in Barrackpore before moving to Delhi, where he completed his Class XII in science from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Delhi Cantt, and then graduated with English Honours from Ram Lal Anand College under Delhi University in 1996. Always keen to follow in his father's footsteps, he joined the senior division of the NCC as a student and earned the DGNCC's commendation card in 1995. A talented marksman, he won laurels at several national-level shooting competitions. He was selected for the Army through the Combined Defence Services Examination, joined the IMA Dehradun in 1996, and was commissioned into the Army Service Corps on 6 December 1997, being posted to serve with 2 Sikh, an infantry battalion deployed in Jammu & Kashmir. He soon made his mark with superior physical capabilities and soldierly skills, taking part in numerous counter-insurgency operations. He was awarded the "Best Young Officer's Trophy" in 1999 and a COAS Commendation card on 26 January 2000. In August 2000, 2 Sikh was deployed in the Rajouri district, where Capt Ghosh led a search and cordon operation at Namblan village following intelligence of terrorist presence. On 11 August, a fierce gun battle erupted; when his team was pinned down, he eliminated one terrorist to save his comrades, and later, moving dangerously close to the hideout, shot dead another. On the morning of 12 August, when an entrapped terrorist emerged firing indiscriminately, Capt Ghosh charged at him with utter disregard for his own safety. He received a direct hit, was grievously injured, and succumbed to his wounds. For his outstanding courage, leadership and supreme sacrifice, he was awarded the Shaurya Chakra.