Date of Birth
9 March 1968
Balidan Diwas
18 June 1999
Place of Supreme Sacrifice
Srinagar-Kargil Highway, Jammu & Kashmir
State of Origin
Mandi, Himachal Pradesh
Unit / Regiment
3 Rashtriya Rifles
Operation
Operation Vijay
War / Conflict
Kargil War
Biography
Captain Deepak Guleria was born on 9 March 1968 in Ajmer, Rajasthan, and hailed from Cholthara in the Sarkaghat sub-division of Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh. He completed his schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya and graduated from Loyola College, Chennai, before being selected for the Army. He joined the Officers Training Academy at Chennai in May 1991, completed his training in March 1992, and was commissioned into the Army Service Corps. A keen sportsman, he excelled in lawn tennis, table tennis and basketball, representing his unit and earning recognition at the services and national levels. In December 1997 he had the honour of leading a joint-services car rally from Dwarka to New Delhi as part of India's Golden Jubilee of Independence celebrations. By 1999 he was serving as Staff Captain at the 3 Rashtriya Rifles sector headquarters in Jammu and Kashmir. On 18 June 1999, militants detonated an IED on the Srinagar-Kargil highway, wounding several soldiers and civilians. Captain Guleria rushed to the spot, organised a rescue party and supervised the evacuation of the injured to a nearby helipad. As he was returning to base, a second IED blast struck him, inflicting grievous splinter injuries. He succumbed while being taken to the base hospital in Srinagar. For his courage, leadership and supreme sacrifice, he was awarded the Sena Medal.