Ryada Maheshwar

Biography

Rifleman Ryada Maheshwar hailed from Komanpally village in Velpur Mandal of Nizamabad district in Telangana. Born into a humble family of farmers, he was the son of Shri Ryada Raju and Smt Gangamallu. After completing his class XII from a college in Nizamabad, he worked hard to earn his place in the armed forces and joined the Army in 2015 at the age of 21. He was recruited into 18 Madras of the Madras Regiment, an infantry regiment renowned for its brave soldiers and numerous battle honours. After completing his initial training, Rfn Maheshwar was first posted to Assam, later serving in Dehradun before being deployed to the volatile Jammu and Kashmir sector. In November 2020, his unit was deployed in Kupwara district close to the Line of Control, where ceasefire violations and infiltration bids were frequent. Besides manning forward posts in the Machil sector, the unit undertook operations to check infiltration from across the border. On 08 November 2020, an infiltration bid was reported by a BSF patrol at around 0100 hrs near the anti-infiltration obstacle system about 3.5 km from the LoC. A team from 18 Madras, led by Capt Ashutosh Kumar and including Rfn Maheshwar, was rushed in to intercept the infiltrators. Contact was lost and re-established at around 1020 hrs, after which the troops were tactically deployed to block escape routes and engaged the militants aggressively. In the ensuing fierce gun-battle three militants were eliminated. During the exchange of fire, Rfn Maheshwar and several comrades were seriously injured. He later succumbed to his wounds, laying down his life in the line of duty at the age of 26.