Sanjeev Dahiya

Biography

Captain Sanjeev Dahiya hailed from Haryana and was born on 10 October 1974 into a military family. As the son of an Army officer, Lt Col RS Dahiya, he nursed the ambition of joining the Armed Forces from childhood. After completing his graduation, he realised his dream of following in his father's footsteps by earning selection to the prestigious Officers Training Academy at Chennai. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant on 5 September 1998 into the Army Service Corps, the corps responsible for the logistic support functions of the Indian Army. For his first assignment he was attached to the 5th Battalion of the Rajput Regiment, joining it on 26 September 1998, and served as its Ghatak Platoon Commander. During July 1999, his unit was deployed in the Akhnoor sector of Jammu & Kashmir. On the night of 16/17 July 1999, amid one of the heaviest rainfalls of the season, a patrol of one officer and seven soldiers was detailed to guard the area between NS Pura and Malabela Post along the International Border, under 191 Infantry Brigade of 10 Infantry Division, to check enemy infiltration. The patrol was split into two subsidiary groups, with Captain Dahiya leading one group of four to patrol the area while the other laid an ambush near the Pargwal canal head-works. At about 0200 hours on 17 July 1999, as Captain Dahiya's group moved near the Malabela Bunker, it suddenly came under a heavy volume of fire from the flanks and rear. He and his comrades swiftly took up positions and returned fire in a fierce gun battle, during which he sustained multiple serious bullet injuries. A highly motivated second-generation officer who always led from the front, Captain Sanjeev Dahiya succumbed to his wounds and was martyred at the age of 24, upholding the highest traditions of the Indian Army.