Thakur Narsing Bhagatsingh

Biography

Wing Commander Thakur Narsing Bhagatsingh was born on 27 January 1974 and grew up in the BHEL Colony at Ramachandrapuram, Hyderabad. The son of Shri TD Singh, he excelled in both academics and extracurricular activities during his school days and nurtured a strong desire to join the armed forces from childhood. After completing his class XII from BHEL Higher Secondary School, he joined the prestigious National Defence Academy at Khadakwasla near Pune. Drawn to the skies, he chose the Air Force and was commissioned on 16 December 1995 at the age of twenty-one. Trained as a helicopter pilot, he passed out with the 156th Pilots' Course. His early assignments included a tenure with a frontline helicopter unit along the Indo-Tibet border in Sikkim. In late 2005 he completed his Flying Instructor's course, and in June 2008 he was posted to Air Force Station Hakimpet as a flying instructor. His subsequent assignments included service as a Flight Commander in a frontline unit flying the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, and duty as an Air Force flying examiner near Delhi. In December 2013 he was selected to command an ALH unit based at Bareilly, where he played a key role in operations including Operation Rahat in Uttarakhand and flood relief operations in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. Serving as Commanding Officer of 111 Helicopter Unit, the "Snow Tigers", Wg Cdr Singh captained an ALH Dhruv on an operational mission from Bareilly to Allahabad on 25 July 2014. Airborne at 1553 hours with co-pilot Sqn Ldr Manu Rajagopal, the helicopter developed technical trouble and issued a Mayday call before losing contact. Showing commendable presence of mind, the aircrew steered the aircraft away from a thickly populated area near Sitapur before it crashed near Ataria, about 70 km from Lucknow. Wg Cdr TNB Singh laid down his life in the line of duty, upholding the highest traditions of the Indian Air Force.