Second Lieutenant Puneet Nath Datt, AC (29 April 197320 July 1997) was an officer of 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 ...

11 Gorkha Rifles The 11th Gorkha Rifles is a Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army that was re-raised after independence. The regiment consists of primarily the Kirant Tribes Rai, Limbu, Yakkha, Sunuwar of Eastern Nepal, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Dooars of West Be ...

. He was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

awarded India's highest peacetime

gallantry award Military awards and decorations are distinctions given as a mark of honor for military heroism, meritorious or outstanding service or achievement. A decoration is often a medal consisting of a ribbon and a medallion. Civil decorations awarde ...

, 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 ...

, for bravery displayed in an Indian Army operation. The operation was conducted against terrorists hidden in a three-story building in the Nowshera area of

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory since 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered by India as a state from 1952 to 2019 * Jammu and Kashmir (prin ...

Early life

Puneet Nath Datt was born on April 29, 1973, in

Jodhpur Jodhpur () is the second-largest city of the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, after its capital Jaipur. As of 2023, the city has a population of 1.83 million. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Jodhpur district and ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

. He completed his schooling at St. Bethany's School in

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

, St. Joseph's Academy in

Dehradun Dehradun (), also known as Dehra Doon, is the winter capital and the List of cities in Uttarakhand by population, most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous Dehradun district, d ...

, St. Xavier's School in Jaipur, and attained his class XII from Tagore Public School in Jaipur. As a child and while in high school, his ambition was to join the

, and he pursued it by preparing for entry into the renowned

National Defence Academy The National Defence Academy (NDA) is the joint defence service training institute of the Indian Armed Forces. Here, cadets of the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force train together before they go on to their respective service a ...

. He secured entry into the NDA in December 1991. At the NDA, he had a brilliant record, and due to his proficiency in both academic & military subjects as well as outstanding officer-like qualities, he was awarded the coveted rank of 'Cadet Sergeant Major' for his 'Echo' squadron. As a Cadet Sergent Major, he won the prized Cross Country Shield for his squadron. He was also awarded three gold medals in rowing.

Family

His father's name was

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Pramod Nath Datt, who also served in the 1/11 Gorkha Rifles. This inspired Datt to join the same regiment. His grandfather's name was

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

S.N.C Bakshi, who also served in the

. While his uncle V. K. C. Bakhshi, was a

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in the

Indian Navy The Indian Navy (IN) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Navy, maritime and Amphibious warfare, amphibious branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of the Naval Staff (India), Chief ...

. He was posthumously awarded the

which was received on his behalf by his mother, Anita Datt, from the President of India on January 26, 1998, India's Republic Day.

Military career

Puneet Nath Datta was commissioned in the 1/11 Gorkha Rifles on December 9, 1995. He took part in an encounter that panned out as a cordon & search operation on specific information from a source cultivated by him regarding presence of foreign militants in a building in the Nowshera locality of

. The operation was started on July 20, 1997, and the building was completely surrounded by 0400 hours. The militants were secure within the three-story building located in a densely populated and congested area. At daybreak when the terrorists found that they were surrounded, they resorted to indiscriminate firing. One militant ran out firing on the search party. Seeing the militant firing on his troops, he ordered his troops to take cover and sprang up and shot the militant in an eye-to-eye encounter while maneuvering his position to block the rear exit of the building. The remaining militants inside the building continued firing on the troops, resulting in him being seriously wounded. He then lobbed a grenade inside the building, killing the remaining militants and destroying a considerable amount of the enemy's arms and ammunition. He attained martyrdom and immortalized himself by carving a niche in the annals of his Regiment and the Indian Army's history.

Ashok Chakra awardee

Second Lieutenant Puneet Nath Datt was posthumously awarded the

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 ...

, the India's highest peace time gallantry award on 15 August 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Datt, Puneet Nath Recipients of the Ashoka Chakra (military decoration) 1973 births 1997 deaths Indian Army officers Indian military personnel killed in action People from Jodhpur 20th-century Indian military personnel