Shailesh Rialch, SM

Biography

Captain Shailesh Rialch was born on 14 October 1975 in Himachal Pradesh. Inspired from an early age to follow his father into the armed forces, he was selected to join the prestigious National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla in 1994, serving as part of 'Kilo' Squadron in the 91st NDA course. He subsequently moved to the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, and was commissioned as a Lieutenant on 6 December 1997, at the age of twenty-two, into the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME). During 1999 his unit, 606 EME Battalion, was deployed in Jammu and Kashmir as part of Operation Rakshak. Captain Shailesh served with the battalion's 215 Field Workshop and was also part of its Quick Reaction Team. On 24 November 1999, he led a QRT on an operation at Panchgam in Anantnag district. As he was positioning his men, cornered militants opened indiscriminate fire in a bid to escape. Captain Shailesh swiftly deployed his soldiers to block their escape routes and, in the ensuing exchange, was hit and wounded. Showing great courage, he returned accurate fire and killed a militant, continuing to direct his men despite grave injuries until he was martyred at 1400 hours. For his outstanding bravery and supreme sacrifice he was awarded the Sena Medal.