Arun Kumar Singh

Biography

Lance Naik Arun Kumar Singh hailed from Saryupar village in the Saran district of Bihar and was born on 29 September 1976. He joined the Army on 28 February 1994 at the age of seventeen. He was recruited into the 81 Field Regiment of the Regiment of Artillery, one of the important combat arms of the Indian Army. After serving for a few years with his parent unit, he was deputed to serve with 36 Rashtriya Rifles, then deployed in Jammu & Kashmir. During 1999, Lance Naik Arun Kumar's unit, 36 Rashtriya Rifles, was deployed in the Anantnag district of Jammu & Kashmir. The unit's Area of Responsibility was heavily infested with militants, and it had to undertake counter-insurgency operations on a regular basis based on intelligence reports. The unit launched frequent patrols to monitor militant activity across its area, and Lance Naik Arun Kumar was part of one such patrol on 20 November 1999. On that day, Lance Naik Arun Kumar and his comrades were tasked to patrol the area near Fatehpur village in Anantnag district. When the patrol party reached the vicinity of the village at around 1300 hours, it was struck by a mine blast. The explosion had a devastating effect, and Lance Naik Arun Kumar sustained severe injuries. He was immediately shifted to the 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar, but later succumbed to his injuries. A valiant soldier, he laid down his life at the age of twenty-three in the service of the nation.