Ajay Singh Rautela

Biography

Subedar Ajay Singh Rautela hailed from Rampur village in the Tehri district of Uttarakhand. The son of late Shri Awwal Singh Rautela, who himself had served in the army, Ajay grew up with a strong sense of military tradition. He studied at Rajkiya Inter College, Jajal, and chose to follow in his father's footsteps by joining the army. He was recruited into the 17th battalion of the Garhwal Rifles, an infantry regiment renowned for the bravery of its soldiers and a rich legacy of battle honours. By 2021, Subedar Ajay Singh had put in over two decades of service and had risen to the rank of Subedar. Over the years he developed into a devoted soldier and a dependable Junior Commissioned Officer. He was later deputed to serve with the 48 Rashtriya Rifles battalion, deployed in Jammu and Kashmir for counter-insurgency operations. During October 2021, his unit was operating in the Poonch district, where the area of responsibility near the Line of Control remained highly active and prone to infiltration. Acting on intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists, the security forces including troops of 48 RR launched a search operation in the Nar Khas forest area of the Mendhar sector on 15 October 2021. Subedar Ajay Singh was part of the team conducting this search and destroy operation. As the cordon was tightened, the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire, triggering a fierce gun battle with a heavy exchange of fire. During the engagement, Subedar Ajay Singh and Naik Harendra Singh sustained serious gunshot wounds and later succumbed to their injuries. A gritty and valiant JCO, Subedar Ajay Singh Rautela laid down his life in the line of duty.