Suresh Vishnu Sonwane

Biography

Lance Naik Suresh Vishnu Sonwane belonged to Kajisangavi village in the Chandwad tehsil of Nasik district, Maharashtra, where he was born on 21 June 1968. He joined the Indian Army at the age of twenty on 29 June 1988 and was enrolled into the 16th Battalion of the Maratha Light Infantry Regiment. Over the course of his service Lance Naik Sonwane took part in several major operations, including Operation Pawan, Operation Savage and Operation Orchid. From December 1995 he was deployed in Jammu & Kashmir with the 27 Rashtriya Rifles as part of Operation Rakshak, the Army's sustained counter-insurgency campaign in the state, and served through numerous operations against militants. On 7 June 1999, during a search and cordon operation, his party came under fire from holed-up militants. Fighting with great courage, Lance Naik Sonwane sustained multiple gunshot wounds and made the supreme sacrifice for the nation. He is remembered with deep respect for his indomitable courage and exemplary devotion to duty.