Bahadur Singh Bohra, AC

Biography

Havaldar Bahadur Singh Bohra was born in the remote village of Rawalkhet in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand. The youngest of four siblings, he was drawn from an early age to the adventurous life of a soldier. He joined the Army and later volunteered for the elite Para Special Forces, a formation renowned for its daredevilry and outstanding courage. By 2008 he was serving with the 10 Para (Special Forces), deployed in the Jammu and Kashmir sector. On 25 September 2008, acting on credible intelligence about the presence of terrorists in the Lawanz area, the security forces launched a search-and-destroy mission. Havaldar Bohra was appointed squad commander of an assault team tasked with search operations in snowbound, inhospitable mountainous terrain at an altitude of 14,000 feet. At 1815 hours he sighted a group of terrorists and stealthily moved to intercept them. Greatly outnumbered and sensing grave danger to his comrades, he drew heavy automatic fire onto himself, charged the enemy, and killed one terrorist in a swift action. Struck by gunshot wounds to his left shoulder, Havaldar Bohra remained unmindful of his condition. Encouraging and directing his comrades, he pressed on with the assault and killed a second terrorist at extremely close range. Though severely wounded, he refused evacuation, instructed his men to cover his move, and lobbed a grenade at the enemy. In a final act of supreme valour, he charged and killed one more terrorist in hand-to-hand combat before succumbing to his injuries. Inspired by his sacrifice, his comrades killed two more terrorists. For his inspiring leadership, conspicuous bravery and selfless sacrifice, Havaldar Bahadur Singh Bohra was awarded the Ashoka Chakra, the nation's highest peacetime gallantry award.