Hav Rajesh Kumar of 11 Rajputana Rifles killed three terrorists in a Kupwara forest on 1 August 2009 before he died of his wounds.
Three contacts in a Kupwara forest
On 1 August 2009, Havildar Rajesh Kumar of 11 Rajputana Rifles was leading a section of a Ghatak team through dense forest in Kupwara district when terrorists opened heavy fire. He returned fire, moved through the undergrowth round the flank, and killed the man.
The search went on. Two more terrorists, higher up the slope, then engaged the team. Kumar moved to outflank one of them under fire and was shot in the abdomen. He killed that man despite the wound.
Bleeding heavily, he approached the third terrorist from his blind side. The two fought hand to hand, and Kumar killed him with a burst of fire before he died of his injuries.
Lath village, Sonipat
Kumar, army number 2890262, came from the village of Lath near Bhainswal Kalan in Sonipat district, Haryana.
His was the only new Ashoka Chakra in the Republic Day list of January 2010; the Defence Ministry's release carried the award as its headline. His wife, Beeta, received it from President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi on 26 January 2010.
What the citation recorded
The official citation text could not be read at a government source for this article. This is a summary, not the citation. It recorded that on 1 August 2009 Havildar Rajesh Kumar was leading a section of a Ghatak team searching dense forest in Kupwara district when terrorists opened fire. He moved round the flank and killed one. Two more then engaged the team from upslope. He was shot in the abdomen while outflanking one of them, killed that man, and then reached the third from his blind side and killed him in hand-to-hand combat before he died.