Abhijai Thapa, SC

Biography

Major Abhijai Thapa was born on 5 June 1985 in Dharamsala, in the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Drawn to a life of service from his early years, he joined the Indian Army and was commissioned into the Corps of Engineers. He later trained as a helicopter pilot with the Army Aviation Corps, qualifying on the Cheetah helicopter and amassing over 250 hours of flying experience in some of the most demanding mountain terrain along the northern borders. On 1 October 2014, during Operation Iron Fist, Major Thapa was piloting a Cheetah helicopter together with co-pilot Major Vikas Varyani and engineering officer Captain Avinash Somavanshi. While returning from a sortie near the India-China border, the aircraft suffered a catastrophic tail rotor failure as it flew over the densely populated Bhartol village in the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. With the helicopter crippled and rapidly losing control, a crash over the village threatened the lives of thousands on the ground. In those final critical seconds, Major Thapa displayed exceptional presence of mind and extraordinary courage. He transmitted a distress call, cut off the fuel supply to minimise the impact, and steered the dying aircraft away from the inhabited area, guiding it clear of more than 11,000 residents and military personnel before it went down. The three brave officers on board made the supreme sacrifice, but their selfless action saved countless lives on the ground. For his conspicuous gallantry and supreme sacrifice, Major Abhijai Thapa was awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously.