R Murigappa

Biography

Sergeant R Murigappa was recruited into the Indian Air Force in its technical stream and trained as a technician. He later underwent a special course and qualified as a flight gunner. By 1996 he was serving with 130 Helicopter Unit, known as "The Condors," which had been raised at Jammu on 15 February 1988 with the primary role of providing air support for Operation Meghdoot. In addition to its glacier maintenance duties, the unit was frequently called upon for tasks such as flood relief and casualty evacuation. During August 1996, Sergeant Murigappa was on detachment in a forward area to carry out air maintenance operations in the Operation Meghdoot sector. At that time the enemy had redeployed forces in the Southern glacier area and established new bunkers at commanding positions that directly threatened Indian Army posts. Helicopter routes to these posts, situated on the Saltoro ridge south-west of the Siachen Glacier, had come under constant enemy watch and threat, making resupply extremely hazardous. Undeterred, the IAF detachment continued its supply missions to the Actual Ground Position Line. On 26 August 1996, Sergeant Murigappa was assigned as flight gunner for air drop missions, flying with Flight Lieutenant Sandeep Jain as captain, Pilot Officer Vaibhav Bhagwat as co-pilot and Sergeant Krishna C Jha as flight engineer. The sorties involved dropping supplies through areas dominated by enemy anti-aircraft batteries. Two missions were completed successfully despite enemy interference. During the third sortie, after the load had been dropped, the helicopter was engaged by enemy ground fire and took a direct hit before crashing into the icy mountains. Sergeant R Murigappa and his fellow crew members laid down their lives in the line of duty.