Bachan Singh Ruhela

Biography

Rifleman Bachan Singh Ruhela was selected for the Indian Army in 1988 and was enrolled into 2 Rajputana Rifles, serving with his unit for about a decade across challenging operational areas. During Operation Vijay in the summer of 1999, the 56 Mountain Brigade was tasked with recapturing the dominating heights of Tololing in the Drass sector, which Pakistani intruders had occupied to threaten the vital Srinagar-Leh highway. The plan called for 2 Rajputana Rifles to assault Tololing Top while 18 Grenadiers provided a firm base. When the battalion launched its assault on Tololing Top at 2030 hours on 12 June 1999, Rifleman Bachan Singh was part of Major Vivek Gupta's 'Charlie' Company. Despite heavy artillery and automatic fire the men closed in on the enemy, but as they emerged into the open the company came under fire from all sides. In the fierce fighting that followed Rifleman Bachan Singh was grievously wounded and made the supreme sacrifice for the nation. Following in his footsteps, his son Hitesh Kumar joined the Army and was commissioned into the same battalion, 2 Rajputana Rifles, in 2018.