Parasarama Khayatannavar

Biography

Parasarama Khayatannavar was born on 7 July 1985 in Ronihal village, Bijapur district, Karnataka. He joined the Indian Army on 23 April 2003 at the age of 19 and was assigned to the 20th Battalion of the Madras Regiment, one of the oldest and most decorated regiments of the Indian Army. Over fifteen years of dedicated service, he rose through the ranks to become a Lance Naik, taking part in several counter-insurgency deployments in the North East. In April 2018, his unit was engaged in Operation Rhino, an extended counter-insurgency operation along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh belt aimed at flushing out militants operating in the dense, rain-soaked jungles of the region. On 22 April 2018, while moving with a convoy through the treacherous terrain of Iduli village in the Roing Circle of Dibang Valley, heavy rains triggered a landslide and the soil beneath his vehicle gave way, sending it plunging into a deep ravine. Lance Naik Parasarama Khayatannavar succumbed to his injuries at the age of 32, laying down his life in the line of duty.