Natraj Vijay Raghavan, SC, SM

Biography

Lt Col Natraj Vijay Raghavan hailed from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and was born on 18 June 1961. The son of army veteran Brigadier NV Raghavan, he grew up in army cantonments with a dream of donning the olive green uniform. He was commissioned into 15 Kumaon of the Kumaon Regiment on 12 June 1982 and, within barely a year and a half of service, earned the Sena Medal for distinguished service and devotion to duty. He took part in Operation Bluestar, served in counter-insurgency operations in Nagaland, and had tenures at the IMA, IMTRAT in Bhutan, and HQ Arunachal and Assam Range. A national-level squash player, he captained the squash team at the National Defence Academy. In 1999, Lt Col Raghavan was serving with 15 Kumaon deployed in Kupwara district, Jammu & Kashmir. When infiltrators were reported on a 12,000-foot feature in the Machhil sub-sector, he led search and cordon operations. On 24 June 1999, during an ambush, he neutralised one militant and then charged a second hiding behind a boulder. Though hit by gunfire and severely wounded, he pressed forward and eliminated the second militant before collapsing, succumbing to his injuries. For his courage and indomitable spirit, he was awarded the Shaurya Chakra.