Sambur Gurung

Biography

Havildar Sambur Gurung was born in 1984 in Manbu village of Gorkha district, Nepal. He joined the Army at the age of twenty after completing his schooling and was inducted into the 5/8 Gorkha Rifles, an infantry regiment renowned for its brave soldiers and a rich history of battle honours. By 2020 he had risen to the rank of Havildar and had matured into a battle-hardened soldier with considerable field experience. In July 2020, his unit was deployed in the Naushera Sector near the Line of Control in Rajouri district, Jammu & Kashmir, an area marked by frequent and unprovoked ceasefire violations. On 10 July 2020, around 1230 hours, Pakistani troops opened unprovoked cross-border fire on Indian posts. Havildar Gurung was manning a bunker at a forward post when the Indian side retaliated, triggering heavy exchanges that continued intermittently for hours. During this intense shelling, an enemy shell struck his bunker and grievously wounded him. He was evacuated to an Army medical facility but later succumbed to his injuries, laying down his life in the line of duty.