Lt Col Niranjan Kumar was a National Security Guard (NSG) commando. He was among the 7 martyrs martyred in the ongoing gunfight against Pakistani terrorists who attacked the Pathankot airbase few days back. Soldiers like Lt Col Niranjan motivate young blood to join the Indian Army and protect our country and its people.
Here are few inspiring facts about Lt Col Niranjan which might motivate you to become like him.
Lt Col Niranjan has joined the Indian army by cleaning Combined Defence Services Exam (CDSE) which is conducted by UPSC. This is one of the toughest defence exam followed by 5 days SSB interview. Normally SSB interview has selection rate of 1-5% which means out of 100 candidates in a batch only 1-5 make it.
He joined Officers Training Academy, Chennai for his basic military training.
He was commissioned in the Engineers Regiment of the Army in 2004, his role was “mopping up procedure” on the encounter spot.
He was head of the elite bomb squad of the NSG and an “explosives expert”. Being the leader, he led from the front to do his job. He died in action, defusing a grenade.
He was recently promoted to Lt. Colonel and posted in New Delhi as a commando.
Since childhood, he was interested in the armed forces. He opted for short service commission and when we asked why not air force or navy, he said he was in love with the olive green.
Lt Col. Niranjan told his family about getting into the National Security Guards, just after his wedding. “Around 2 years back he came on leave from Jammu and Kashmir for his wedding. As he was leaving, he told me that he was getting into the NSG and he was very excited about it. He was in NSG Delhi for 1 year and 10 months.
His older sister Bhagya Lakshmi said her brother was like Arjuna who fought in his Karmabhoomi. “We lost our mother when he was four years old and he had difficult personal life growing up. The country shouldn’t remember him just as a soldier who laid down his life but a man faced a lot of struggles to achieve his dream.
This message is posted by one of the coursemates of martyr Lt. Col Niranjan who laid down his life recently in Pathankot airbase attack. This message is not a simple message, it also depicts the condition of Indian soldiers who fight and die for the country but get the appreciation only when they die or save the people of this country.
Read the whole message and put your thoughts below.
There are strict rules and regulation for soldiers in the army, airforce, navy and other paramilitary forces when it comes to their presence in social media like Facebook. Recently we have seen lots of mishap where soldiers got honeytrap by ISI agents and confidential details were compromised. In this article you can find what a soldier and their relatives can’t do online and need to be very careful while showing their identity in social media.
In the wake of incidents of Pakistan’s spy agency ISI allegedly using a ‘honeytrap’ strategy on social media to target personnel linked to Indian defence establishment, the Indian Army has issues a 10-point list of do’s and don’ts for its troops and their family members.
The advisory was issued by the General Services (Intelligence) on December 31 after dismissed Air Force official Ranjith K K was arrested on charges of spying and sharing secret documents with the ISI.
Investigations revealed that Ranjith was honey-trapped into espionage by a woman whom he met through Facebook in 2012. Ranjith was allegedly lured into sharing some sensitive details through an attractive picture and a Skype session.
According to reports, Ranjith had shared some technical details of the Air Force, including that of Pathankot, aircraft movement and maps of Air Force stations in Delhi, Chennai and Belgaum. The information was shared with an ISI-backed espionage ring through emails and inter-based text messages.
The latest advisory was sent to all the units, sub-units and formations of the Army to save them from being ensnared through social media.
10 Things Soldiers Can’t Do/Shouldn’t Do Online In Social Media
Don’t watch porn on Facebook/social networking sites.
Do not use photo in uniform as profile pic on WhatsApp/Facebook.
Do not click advertisements on social sites alluring for prizes/awards.
Do not expose official identity on such sites.
No uploading of pictures with weapon on such sites even in civil uniform.
Do not reveal your rank, unit name and location or anything related to your work.
Do not accept friend request from unknowns.
Soldiers families should not post/mention their profession on sites.
Background of any picture should not contain anything related to military.
Do not store/ save any information related to military in computer/laptops.
Hope these points will be considered by soldiers to prevent any mishap.
An avalanche over the weekend killed four Indian soldiers on foot patrol in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, the army said Monday.
Army spokesman Col. S. D. Goswami said the soldiers were in the remote mountainous Leh region when the avalanche swept them away on Sunday.
Goswami said army rescuers recovered the bodies on Monday after digging through snow drifts.
Leh is about 435 kilometers (270 miles) east of Srinagar, the main city in the Indian portion of Kashmir.
Avalanches and landslides are common in Kashmir, which is divided between India and neighboring Pakistan. Last year, four soldiers were killed in the same region after their vehicle was buried in an avalanche.
In 2012, a massive avalanche on the Pakistan-controlled part of the Siachen glacier killed 140 people, including 129 soldiers.
Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday received the season’s first major snowfall.
Hello, Warriors! The Army Aviation Corps is a component of the Indian Army which deals with the flying of aircraft to provide battle support, transport and other operations in need to the mainstream fighters of the army.
Formed on 1 November 1986, the “Air Observation Post” units were transferred from the Indian Air Force to the Indian Army to form the Army Aviation branch. Using nine helicopter squadrons, Army Aviation has supported ground units by carrying men and material in the highest battlefield on earth, culminating in the conquest of the entire 72 km of the Siachen Glacier.
Since then, the Army Aviation Corps has come a long way and has inducted many aircrafts in its fleet. Here are the some of those:
HAL Chetak:
Originated as Aérospatiale Alouette III in France, it is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by Sud Aviation. It was manufactured by Aérospatiale of France, and under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics in India as Hal Chetak, which built over 300 units of the helicopter till date. They were primarily in service with the Indian Armed Forces in training, transport, CASEVAC (Casualty Evacuation), communications and liaison roles. The Chetak is being replaced by HAL Dhruv in the armed forces.
HAL Chetak Indian Army
HAL also exported Chetak helicopters to Namibia and Suriname. India has also donated used Chetak helicopters to other countries such as Bangladesh and Nepal.
HAL Cheetah, Cheetal & Lancer:
Also from France, the Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama is a single-engined helicopter developed to meet hot and high operational requirements of the Indian Armed Forces.
The helicopter have been built under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India, known as the Cheetah.
HAL Cheetah, Indian Army
HAL later developed an upgraded variant, powered by the Turbomeca TM 333-2M2 engine, which is known as the Cheetal.
Lancer is the modified armed combat variant. Changes include composite armouring, toughened glass, and can carry two 12.7 mm machine guns and up to six 70 mm rockets.
HAL Dhruv:
The HAL Dhruv is a utility helicopter. The development of the Dhruv was first announced in November 1984, and it was subsequently designed with assistance from MBB in Germany. It has been used in both military and civil use. Military versions in production include transport, utility, reconnaissance and medical evacuation variants. Based on the Dhruv platform, the HAL Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) a dedicated attack helicopter and HAL Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), a utility and observation helicopter, are currently being developed. As of August 2013, more than 200 HAL Dhruv have been produced for different customers.
HAL Dhruv, Indian Army
Now, coming to the mainstream fighter choppers,
HAL LCH:
HAL Light Combat Helicopter is a multirole combat helicopter being indigenously developed for use by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army. The LCH is a derivative of the HAL Dhruv, which was inducted into the Indian Armed Forces.
HAL LCH
The Indian Air Force is to acquire 65 LCHs and Indian Army is to acquire 114 LCHs.
It is intended for use in air defence against slow moving aerial targets (e.g. aircraft and UAVs), Counter Surface Force Operation (CSFO), destruction of enemy air defence operations, escort to special heliborne operations (SHBO), Counter-insurgency operations (COIN), offensive Employment in Urban Warfare, support of combat search and rescue operations (SAR) operations, anti-tank role and scout duties. It will also be capable of high-altitude warfare (HAW).
HAL Rudra:
Also known as ALH-WSI (Weapon Systems Integrated), it is an armed version of HAL Dhruv. Rudra is equipped with Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) and Thermal Imaging Sights Interface, a 20 mm turret gun, 70 mm rocket pods, anti-tank guided missiles and air-to-air missiles.
HAL Rudra Army
The ALH-WSI has two main versions:
Mark III which has Electronic Warfare, countermeasures, sensors and targeting systems installed, but does not feature weapons.
Mark IV which is to have a French Nexter 20 mm turret gun, Belgian 70 mm rockets, and MBDA air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, such as the anti-tank Helina missile. All these systems have been tested individually.
Innumerable skirmishes and confrontations are taking place in the ongoing operations in the Siachen Glacier and the Army Aviation Corps is providing the required support for sustenance of our troops. The aviation arm is headed by a Director General of the rank of Lt General at the -Army HQ, New Delhi and it will starve to keep the name of these mighty choppers high.
Among the defence personnel who laid down their lives on Saturday’s terror attack on the air force base in Pathankot is 58-year-old Jagdish Chand. At the time of the attack Sub Jagdish Chand was in the kitchen, Chand reportedly challenged the attackers and managed to snatch a rifle from one of them and killed a terrorist. However, the other attackers fired at him and Chand succumbed to his injuries.Chand was a former armyman who was recruited to the Defence Security Corps (DSC) after his retirement a couple of years ago. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Top government officials said that Chand, who hailed from Basa village in Himachal Pradesh, was among the first security personnel to engage the terrorists. “We have been told by the Air Force that Jagdish Chand had exhibited extraordinary valour on Saturday. He did not care for his own life to save a huge defence establishment,” said Deputy Commissioner (Chamba) M Sudha Devi. Chand had joined duty at Pathankot Air Force station on January 1, after a transfer from Leh last month. He comes from a family of soldiers. His father and several close relatives either served or are serving in the Indian Army. “Chand is survived by his wife Snehlata and three children — two of them daughters (Kiran and Tammana) and one son(Rajat). Our officials are at their home and we have told the family that we will hand over the body on Monday. People from the state have reached the village. They are sad, yet proud,” said the DC. His wife recalled having spoken to her husband on Friday night. “When we heard about the attack on TV, we were extremely worried. It was only today that we were told that he had achieved martyrdom after killing one terrorist,” a shocked Snehlata told officials.
In a pre-dawn attack, a group of heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists, suspected to belong to Jaish-e-Mohammed outfit, struck at an Air Force base in Pathankot in Punjab, leading to a fierce gunbattle at Indian air force base.
Here is the list of heroes from Indian army and Indian air force who gave supreme sacrifice to keep us safe.
1. Corporal Gursewak Singh, A Garud Commando
2. Lt Col Niranjan of NSG
3. Capt Fateh Singh of DSC
4. Hawaldar Kulwant Singh of DSC
5. Sub Jagdish Chand — Defence Security Corps
Sub Jagdish was cooking at DSC kitchen at the time of attack, after hearing the firing, instead of running he overpowered one terrorist and killed him with his own rifle. Meanwhile other terrorist fired at Sub Jagdish.
We are waiting for more details on other brave heroes.
6. Lance Naik Phoolwant Singh
7. Havaldar Sanjeevan Singh Rana: Havildar Sanjeevan Singh Rana (51) from Himachal Pradesh suffered five bullet injuries and martyred on the first day of the attack. He was the only earner of his family and survived by wife and three children. In 2009, he retired from Dogra Regiment. His father, Rattan Rana also served in army.
This year the Air Chief announced that women would finally be allowed to become fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force. As the year ends, 3 women cadets are already training to graduate in 2017- the first batch of female fighter pilots. NDTV’s Sunetra Choudhury marks this momentous shift by profiling the women who’ve represented women in the force till now – from an Everest climber to a bomb disposal expert, the daughter of a vegetable vendor.
Lt Col Niranjan, a member of the NSG’s Bomb Disposal Squad, was killed while he was defusing the grenade at the Pathankot air base during combing operations.
A fresh grenade blast ripped through the air force base here this morning claiming the life of an NSG commando, as three other security men succumbed to injuries in a hospital after yesterday’s terror attack taking the toll of Indian security personnel to seven.
Lt Col Niranjan, a member of the NSG’s Bomb Disposal Squad, was killed while he was defusing the grenade at the scene of the terror attack as part of the combing operations that continued through the night. Four other security men were also injured in the blast.
“Pained to know about demise of Lt. Col. Niranjan of NSG during mopping out ops at Pathankot, nation salutes his sacrifice,” Home Minister Rajnath Singh reportedly said.
Defence sources said Niranjan, a resident of Kerala, was killed while trying to retrieve the grenade from the body of a dead terrorist.
Jan 03, 2016 13:06 (IST): Pained to know about demise of Lt. Col. Niranjan of NSG during mopping out ops at Pathankot, nation salutes his sacrifice: HM Rajnath Singh
Read here: http://goo.gl/TujwJY
Jan 03, 2016 12:37 (IST): A National Security Guard Lieutenant Colonel injured in the attack dies of injuries. Number of deaths rises to 7.
11:32 (IST) 3 soldiers injured in Pathankot terror attack die in hospital, number of deaths rises to 6
09:58 (IST) Fresh explosion: Most likely explosives left behind by terrorist are being neutralized and defused as combing operation continues
09:57 (IST): National Security Guard (NSG) reaches Indian Air Force base in #Pathankot
