Sajeev Gopal Pillai, VrC

Biography

Gunner Sajeev Gopal Pillai hailed from Avaneeswaram village in the Kollam district of Kerala and was born on 20 May 1974. Drawn to military life since childhood, he pursued his dream and joined the Army after completing his schooling, being enrolled into the 4 Field Regiment of the Regiment of Artillery. In May 1999, his unit was deployed in the Batalik sector of Jammu & Kashmir along the Line of Control as part of Operation Vijay, launched in response to large-scale Pakistani infiltration in the Kargil region. On 11 May 1999, Gunner Sajeev was deployed as an observation post assistant and volunteered for a demanding mission to help capture Bump-2 in square 1391. On the morning of 19 May 1999, while assisting the forward observation officer in directing continuous artillery fire, his team came under heavy, precise enemy shelling. Struck by shrapnel and later severely wounded in the head by an RPG round, he refused to withdraw, continuing to relay vital technical data for accurate fire at an altitude of 16,500 feet in rugged, snow-covered terrain. He succumbed to his injuries on 15 July 1999 and was awarded the Vir Chakra.