Sunil Khokhar, VrC

Biography

Captain Sunil Khokhar was born on 5 May 1966 in Kansala village, Rohtak district of Haryana, to Honorary Captain Satish Kumar Khokhar, a 28-year veteran of the Indian Army. Raised in a household steeped in the soldierly tradition, he completed his secondary schooling at Model School, Rohtak, and went on to graduate from University College, Rohtak. Drawn to the calling of arms from an early age, he cleared the Combined Defence Services Examination and joined the Officers' Training Academy, Chennai, from where he was commissioned as a Lieutenant on 24 August 1991 into the 268 Medium Regiment of the Regiment of Artillery. By early 1994, his unit had been inducted into the icy heights of the Siachen Glacier as part of Operation Meghdoot, where Indian troops held the world's highest battlefield against both the elements and a determined adversary. On 20 February 1994, Captain Khokhar volunteered to man an Observation Post perched at an altitude of 19,856 feet, and chose to remain at his post even beyond the scheduled forty-five day tenure. On 5 May 1994, his twenty-eighth birthday, the enemy launched a deliberate probing action to seize the strategically important Pahalwan post, triggering a fierce exchange of fire. After helping blunt the assault, a patrol was despatched that evening and succeeded in locating the enemy camp; Captain Khokhar promptly brought down accurate artillery fire on the position and inflicted heavy damage. Two days later, on 7 May 1994, he accompanied another patrol tasked with registering further targets for the guns. Moving with care, he carried out silent target registration; but as he pressed on with the remaining tasks, the enemy spotted him and brought him under heavy small-arms fire. With absolute disregard for personal safety, Captain Khokhar stayed in the open and continued to register targets until a burst of fire struck him in the neck. Gravely wounded, he later succumbed to his injuries, upholding the Gunner's motto, 'Sarvatra Izzat-o-Iqbal'. For his conspicuous gallantry, professional skill and supreme sacrifice in the face of the enemy, Captain Sunil Khokhar was posthumously awarded the Vir Chakra.