Suman Swargiari

Biography

Rifleman Suman Swargiari hailed from Thekerakuchi village in the Baksa district of Assam. He was drawn to a life in uniform from his younger days and worked steadily towards that goal. His resolve to serve was strengthened by personal tragedy: in 2007, his father, Kanak, was killed by militants while trying to broker peace in Assam's troubled Bodo heartland. In time, Suman was recruited into the 46 Assam Rifles battalion of the Assam Rifles, one of India's oldest paramilitary forces, headquartered at Shillong. The battalion was tasked with guarding the Indo-Myanmar border and conducting counter-insurgency operations across the North-Eastern states. During November 2021, Rifleman Swargiari's unit was deployed in Manipur for counter-insurgency duties. Militant activity had intensified along the border region through the year, prompting coordinated operations by the Army and paramilitary forces along the unfenced frontier with Myanmar. On 13 November 2021, Rifleman Swargiari and his comrades, accompanied by their Commanding Officer, Colonel Viplav Tripathi, were returning to their battalion headquarters at Khuga after visiting a forward operating base in the Behiang area. He was part of the quick reaction team moving in a four-vehicle convoy. As the convoy reached Sehkan village in Churachandpur district, militants of the PLA and MNPF launched a pre-planned ambush. At around 1030 hours they first detonated an IED and then opened indiscriminate fire from vantage points in the surrounding forest. The attack was sudden and devastating, leaving the soldiers no time to respond. Colonel Viplav Tripathi, Rifleman Suman Swargiari and three other soldiers lost their lives in the assault. A gallant and motivated soldier, Rifleman Suman Swargiari laid down his life in the line of duty.