Dinesh Raghu Raman, AC

Biography

Major Dinesh Raghu Raman was born on 6 April 1978 in New Delhi. He joined the Army and was commissioned into the 19 Jat Regiment. After serving with his unit for some years, he was posted to 34 Rashtriya Rifles in the Jammu and Kashmir region in 2006. In June 2007 he led a highly successful operation, "Operation Narvar", during which he eliminated three hardened militants in his area of responsibility. On 2 October 2007, Major Raman was tasked with flushing out militants hiding in a village in Baramulla. At around 0820 hours he deployed his company to cordon off the suspected area. During the search, he heard the cries of a fellow officer who had been critically wounded in a firefight. Displaying the highest spirit of camaraderie, he crawled through heavy fire to reach the injured officer and moved him and two other wounded soldiers to safety. He then advanced on the two militants who had inflicted the casualties and killed both in fierce close-quarter combat. As more militants opened fire from a nearby house, Major Raman was grievously wounded, yet he continued to lead and encourage his men until he lost consciousness. He was evacuated by air to the military hospital in Srinagar, where he succumbed to his injuries. For his exceptional courage and supreme sacrifice, he was awarded the Ashok Chakra.