Jerry Premraj, VrC

Biography

Captain Jerry Premraj was born in Venganoor in the Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala. He was commissioned into the 158 Medium Regiment (SP) from the Officers Training Academy, Chennai, on 5 September 1997. Known as a sincere and conscientious officer with an eye for detail and a pleasant disposition, he answered the call of duty during the Kargil War by voluntarily cutting short his honeymoon to rejoin his unit under Operation Vijay. On the night of 6 July 1999, he served as the Forward Observation Post Officer alongside 2 Naga during the assault on the Twin Bumps in the Point 4875 (Gun Hill) area of the Dras Sector. While directing devastating artillery fire onto enemy positions, he was wounded by a sniper's bullet. Undeterred by the heavy fire, he pressed on with his mission and was struck again by enemy machine-gun fire. Though grievously wounded, he refused evacuation and continued to bring down accurate artillery fire on the enemy until he was martyred on 7 July 1999. His action inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and enabled the capture of the objective by the assaulting infantry. For his conspicuous courage and professional skill, he was awarded the Vir Chakra.