Date of Birth
1 July 1985
Balidan Diwas
25 January 2017
Place of Supreme Sacrifice
Gurez Sector, Jammu & Kashmir
State of Origin
Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh
Unit / Regiment
51 Rashtriya Rifles
Biography
Sepoy Azad Singh was born on 1 July 1985 in Rohilla village of Farrukhabad district, Uttar Pradesh. In 2017 he was serving with the 51 Rashtriya Rifles unit in the Jammu and Kashmir region. On 25 January 2017, he was among a group of soldiers on patrol in the Gurez Sector of northern Kashmir when they were caught in a deadly avalanche. Heavy snowfall in the preceding days had triggered a series of avalanches across Jammu and Kashmir, and the Chandigarh-based avalanche study establishment had warned of further danger. One avalanche struck a picket near Neeru village, in the Tulail area located about 25 kilometres from Gurez town along the Line of Control, a place usually cut off by road during winter. The avalanche engulfed the area just a few hundred metres from the 51 RR headquarters, trapping the patrolling soldiers. A rescue party was dispatched, and seven soldiers were pulled out alive. Sepoy Azad Singh, however, remained buried under the snow and could not be saved, laying down his life in the line of duty.