Amardeep Singh

Biography

Lieutenant Colonel Amardeep Singh hailed from Chandigarh in Punjab. He was commissioned into the 18 Engineer Regiment of the Corps of Engineers, one of the oldest arms of the Indian Army, tracing its origins to 1780. The Corps of Engineers comprises three major constituents — Combat Engineers, the Military Engineering Service and Border Roads — and its combat engineers are entrusted with providing mobility to friendly forces by constructing bridges, tracks and helipads, while denying the same to the enemy through obstacles and demolitions. By 2005, Lt Col Amardeep Singh had accumulated substantial service and had undertaken numerous operational engineering tasks in support of combat operations. During 2005, he was serving with the 18 Engineer Regiment based at Chandi Mandir. In June that year, the Indian Army was tasked to reconstruct four bridges at Kharo, Khab, Leo and Akpa, which had been washed away in the floods of Parechu lake. These bridges formed the lifeline linking Reckong Peo to the upper areas of Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti. In September 2005, Lt Col Amardeep Singh was tasked to lead his team to reconstruct the bridge at Kharo on National Highway 22, the Hindustan-Tibet Road. On 8 September 2005, along with Capt M. M. Bokil and 40 other soldiers, he began the operation after carefully assessing conditions. The 80-tonne, 60-metre Bailey bridge was launched successfully and, in the second stage, his men were fixing wooden slabs onto the iron beams when the structure suddenly collapsed from the centre, possibly due to a technical fault. Most of the soldiers fell into the Sutlej river. Despite a prolonged rescue operation across deep gorges and rapid currents, Lt Col Amardeep Singh and 33 comrades laid down their lives in the line of duty.