Prateek Acharya, SM

Biography

Lieutenant Prateek Acharya hailed from Dehradun, Uttarakhand, though he was born on 11 December 1974 in Assam. He completed his schooling at St Thomas College and graduated from DBS College, Dehradun. A bright student and a keen sportsman, he was especially fond of cricket and often played in the streets of Dehradun whenever he found time. Warm and sociable, he was liked by everyone who knew him. Growing up in Dehradun, home to the famed Indian Military Academy, he was drawn to the armed forces from childhood. He was commissioned into the 19 Grenadiers battalion of the Grenadiers Regiment on 13 June 1998. In September 1999, his unit was deployed in the Chhamb Sector of Jammu as part of Operation Vijay. On 27 September 1999, Lieutenant Prateek was posted as Platoon Commander on the Line of Control at Pallanwala when Pakistani forces opened unprovoked mortar fire on his forward post. Around 6:30 pm, as shells fell near the position, he directed his soldiers into bunkers and pushed a fellow soldier to safety before running to retrieve the platoon telephone set. Just as he was about to step into a bunker, he was struck directly by an 82mm high-explosive mortar bomb and was martyred at the age of 24. For his courage, devotion to duty and supreme sacrifice, he was awarded the Sena Medal.