Date of Birth
25 July 1992
Balidan Diwas
25 January 2017
Place of Supreme Sacrifice
Gurez Sector, Jammu & Kashmir
State of Origin
Panchmahal, Gujarat
Unit / Regiment
51 Rashtriya Rifles
Biography
Sepoy Sunil Patel was born on 25 July 1992 in Balupura village of Godhra tehsil in the Panchmahal district of Gujarat. Born into a family with a strong tradition of military service — his father, Takht Singh, served in the Army for 28 years before retiring in 2015, and two uncles, a brother-in-law and a cousin also served in the armed forces — Sunil was drawn to the uniform. He joined the Army in 2012 through the Mahar Regimental Centre at Sagar in Madhya Pradesh. After a few years of service with his regiment, he was posted to the 51 Rashtriya Rifles unit deployed in the Jammu & Kashmir region. His battalion was engaged in counter-terrorism operations and routinely faced challenging conditions. Having returned from leave on 6 December 2016, Sepoy Sunil was on duty when heavy snowfall in January 2017 triggered a series of avalanches across the region. On the night of 25 January 2017, an avalanche struck an Army post near Neeru village in the Tulail area of the Gurez Sector in North Kashmir, close to the Line of Control. Sepoy Sunil Patel was among the soldiers buried under the snow. Rescue teams saved several men, but he could not be recovered and laid down his life in the line of duty.