Somesh Shrivastava

Biography

Captain Somesh Shrivastava was born on 23 September 1971 in Samastipur, Bihar. He completed his schooling at Loyola High School, Patna and intermediate from Saint Columbus College, Hazaribagh. He was commissioned in June 1996 into the Corps of Engineers. On deputation with the Border Roads Organisation since 1999, he played a key role in keeping the Manali-Leh alternate route open during the Kargil conflict of 1999. On 4 March 2001, while personally supervising a high-risk snow clearance operation on a treacherous icy mountain stretch of the vital Manali-Leh road in Ladakh, his vehicle skidded on an ice patch and plunged down the slope. Captain Shrivastava made the supreme sacrifice at the age of 29. His wife, Riya Nehra, later joined the Indian Army in 2002 as Captain Riya Shrivastava, becoming one of the few Veer Naris to serve in the armed forces in honour of her fallen husband.