Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh, AC was a

Non Commissioned Officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

(NCO) in the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

who was posthumously awarded the

Ashok Chakra The Ashoka Chakra (Transl: Ashoka's wheel) is an Indian symbol which is a depiction of the dharmachakra (English: "wheel of dharma"). It is so-called because it appears on a number of edicts of Ashoka the Great, most prominent among which is ...

, the country’s highest peacetime military decoration on 26 January 2015. He had enlisted in the 13th battalion,

Rajputana Rifles The Rajputana Rifles is the oldest rifle regiment of the Indian Army, having been founded in 1775. It traces its origins to the British Indian Army, when six previously existing regiments were amalgamated to form six battalions of the 6th ...

and was serving in the 57th battalion

Rashtriya Rifles The Rashtriya Rifles (RR; ) is a counter-insurgency force in India, formed in 1990, to deal with internal security in the Jammu and Kashmir (region), Jammu and Kashmir region. They maintain public order by drawing powers from the Armed Forces ...

when he was killed in action. While leading a search operation at Kupwara in Jammu & Kashmir on 24 August 2014, Singh came under heavy fire from terrorists. He rescued an injured soldier and shot one of the terrorists dead.

Early life

Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh hailed from Devrala village in

Bulandshahar district Bulandshahr district (also spelled Bulandshahar) is a district in the Meerut region in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), situated between the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. It is a part of the National Capital Region of India, and Bulandsh ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

. He was the son of Shri Omvir Singh and Shrimati Rajas. His father was a farmer. He had three more siblings.

Military career

Neeraj Kumar Singh had enlisted in the 13 Battalion of

. He was deputed to serve in the 57 Battalion of the

for anti-terrorist operations after serving for in his regiment. For his bravery, courage and self sacrifice he was posthumously awarded

Ashoka Chakra The Ashoka Chakra (Transl: Ashoka's wheel) is an Indian symbol which is a depiction of the dharmachakra (English: "wheel of dharma"). It is so-called because it appears on a number of edicts of Ashoka the Great, most prominent among which is ...

, India's highest peacetime gallantry award.

Ashoka Chakra awardee

He was awarded India's Highest Peacetime Gallantry Award-

on 26 January 2015,

Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially calle ...

. His award citation reads:

Personal life

He loved his military life. He even wished that his two sons Kunal and Lovepita could also become army officers. Naik Neeraj Kumar is survived by his parents, wife Parameshwari and two sons, Kunal and Lovepita.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Neeraj Kumar Recipients of the Ashoka Chakra (military decoration) 2014 deaths Indian Army personnel Year of birth missing Ashoka Chakra 21st-century Indian military personnel People from Bulandshahr district Indian military personnel killed in action