Major Bhukant Misra of the Kumaon Regiment was killed leading an assault during Operation Blue Star at Amritsar in June 1984.
The Second Attack at Amritsar
In June 1984, during Operation Blue Star, Major Bhukant Misra's company of 15 Kumaon advanced on the Golden Temple complex behind an armoured personnel carrier. Anti-tank fire hit the vehicle. The company took eight casualties, among them the junior commissioned officer of the leading platoon.
Misra went forward under fire to restore control of that platoon. When the second attack went in, he stood in front of his men, ordered them to follow, and charged the base of the complex. They gained a foothold.
He then crawled toward a light machine gun firing through an opening and destroyed it and its crew with a grenade. As he reached the steps into the complex, a medium machine gun burst killed him.
Dates and Spelling
Accounts disagree on the day of his death. Honourpoint gives 7 June 1984, and other published accounts give 6 June. The official page does not state a date.
Honourpoint says he was born on 15 June 1941 in Agra and commissioned into 15 Kumaon on 4 April 1970. Many sources spell his surname Mishra. The Ministry of Defence spells it Misra, with service number IC-22479, and records the award at Republic Day 1985.
What the citation recorded
Summary, not the official text: the official awards website records only that Major Bhukant Misra received a posthumous Ashoka Chakra for an act of gallantry in Punjab. A citation reproduced by the Honourpoint memorial site credits him with destroying a machine gun with a grenade and with leading his company from the front until he was killed.