Vikas Yadav, SM

Biography

Vikas Yadav was born on March 29, 1961, in Gurgaon, Haryana. He was commissioned into the Indian Army on August 26, 1982, from OTS Madras (now OTA Chennai) and joined the 7th Battalion of The Jat Regiment. Over 14 years of distinguished service, Major Vikas Yadav proved himself as an exceptional officer. In 1996, he was deployed in Kashmir as part of Operation Rakshak for counter-insurgency operations. During operations at the Charare-Sharif mosque, he displayed exemplary courage and tactical acumen that earned him recognition — and notoriety among militants, who placed him on their "Hit List" as a mark of how effective he had been against them. On June 9, 1996, acting on specific intelligence reports, Major Vikas Yadav led a search and destroy operation against militants in Kashmir. Leading from the front as always, he engaged the militants in a fierce gun battle. During the intense firefight, Major Yadav was injured but continued to lead his men. He later succumbed to his injuries, making the supreme sacrifice at the age of 35. For his gallantry and supreme sacrifice, he was posthumously awarded the Sena Medal. A road in Gurgaon's Sector 15 was renamed Shaheed Major Vikas Yadav Marg, and a girls school in Kosli, Rewari district was renamed in his honour.