Rajendra Prasad Meena

Biography

Rifleman Rajendra Prasad Meena hailed from Dilawarpur village in the Dausa district of Rajasthan. Born in 1991 to Shri Shambhu Dayal Meena and Smt Ramoti Devi, he was the eldest of four siblings, with two sisters and a brother. Coming from a family of modest means, he grew into a responsible young man who took care of his younger siblings. He joined the Assam Rifles in 2013 at the age of 21, enlisting with the 46 Assam Rifles battalion of India's oldest paramilitary force, headquartered at Shillong. Known for his affable and compassionate nature, Rifleman Rajendra Prasad was also drawn to social service, and even contributed money towards the construction of a water tank to improve the water supply in his village. By 2021, with about eight years of service behind him, he had developed into a devoted and valiant soldier. That year, his battalion was deployed along the Indo-Myanmar border and engaged in counter-insurgency operations across the North East, with militant activity having risen sharply in the border regions of Manipur. On 13 November 2021, Rifleman Rajendra Prasad was part of a quick reaction team moving in a four-vehicle convoy, returning to the battalion headquarters at Khuga after a visit to the forward operating base in the Behiang area near the India-Myanmar border. As the convoy reached Sehken village in Churachandpur district, militants of the PLA and MNPF launched a pre-planned ambush at around 1030 hours, first detonating an IED and then opening indiscriminate fire from vantage points in the surrounding forest. The sudden and devastating attack claimed the lives of the Commanding Officer, Colonel Viplav Tripathi, Rifleman Rajendra Prasad and three other soldiers. He laid down his life in the line of duty, a gallant and motivated soldier to the last.