For Captain Pawan Kumar of 10 Para SF and lance Naik Om Prakash of 9 Para SF the final call came at Pampore and as it was ingrained in them — they did not think twice before going into a hail of bullets. “I had one child and I gave him to the Army, to the nation. No father can be prouder”. This is how Rajbir Singh, Headmaster in a Senior Secondary School from Jind, Haryana received the information of his son Captain Pawan Kumar’s martyrdom. No wonder then, where the genes of this bravery, patriotism and selflessness came to Capt Pawan Kumar from. After ambushing CRPF personnel some terrorists had on Saturday taken refuge in the JKEDI Building in Pampore, South Kashmir thus jeopardising the lives of over a hundred civilians.
After cautiously evacuating all civilians from the premises to safety, the officer led his team to deliberately clear the building in which the terrorists had been holed up. This initial operation was fraught with danger as the only way to ascertain the location of the terrorists was to close in and draw their fire. Keeping the Indian Army ethos aloft, Capt Pawan Kumar led his men from the front and indeed drew a fatal volley of fire, which the daring commando and his team quickly retaliated. He later succumbed to his grievous injuries but not before fixing the location of these terrorists thereby facilitating the progress of further operations.
Having been born on the Army Day on 15 Jan 1993, this 23-year-old was destined to be a part of it and in the exemplary display of raw courage, leadership par excellence and esprit-de-corps, he has become a part of military folklore.
The young commando was given a befitting farewell by his comrades in Arms in a solemn ceremony at BB Cantt in Srinagar which was also attended by officials from JKP, BSF and CRPF.
lance Naik Om Prakash whose team had closed in on the hiding terrorists, was also injured and later succumbed. He had been earlier awarded with the “Asadharan Suraksha Seva Praman Patra” by the Prime Minister of India on 15 Aug 2013 for gallantry in counter terrorist operations. The 32 years old lance Naik Om Prakash, hailed from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh and is survived by his parents, wife and two daughters aged 7 & 3 years. His last rites will be held today.