Pankaj Kumar

Biography

Corporal Pankaj Kumar hailed from a military family in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh — son of Subedar Naubat Singh (retired) and Rekha Singh. Growing up across army cantonments in Bareilly, Ahmednagar, and Mathura, he joined the Indian Air Force on March 27, 2012. After technical training in Mi-17 V5 helicopters at Tambaram, he served at Air Force Station Jamnagar, Gujarat, where he married Megha Choudhary on December 14, 2015. Their son Rudransh was born on September 23, 2017. He was subsequently posted to Srinagar. On February 27, 2019, Corporal Kumar was part of the six-member crew of Mi-17 V-5 helicopter ZP-5220 of 154 Helicopter Unit. The aircraft took off at 1000 hours from Srinagar and was struck by the IAF's own SPYDER air defence system approximately 10 minutes later in the operationally charged environment following the Balakot airstrike. The helicopter crashed near Garend Kalaan village in Budgam district, killing all six crew members. Corporal Kumar was just 26 years old. For his devotion to duty and supreme sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded a Mention-in-Despatches.