Captain Sandeep Shankla of 18 Dogra died of wounds after an operation at Zafarkhani village, Kupwara, on 8 August 1991.
The Cordon at Zafarkhani
On 8 August 1991, acting on information that militants were in Zafarkhani village, Kupwara district, Captain Sandeep Shankla of 18 Dogra led a cordon and search. A gunfight followed.
By published accounts, he pulled out an injured soldier and killed one militant. He threw a grenade back at the attackers and was hit by splinters and bullets. He kept fighting until he lost consciousness, and died of his wounds.
The same accounts say the operation left nine militants dead and 22 captured. The official record does not confirm these figures.
Hamirpur to Panchkula
He was born on 3 January 1964 in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, according to Wikipedia, and was 27 when he died.
Spelling and rank vary across sources. The Ministry of Defence spells his name Shankla and records his rank as Captain, with service number IC-43956. Other sources spell it Sankhla and call him a major, among them press reports on his memorial.
Panchkula's municipal corporation renamed the Sector 2 roundabout Shaheed Major Sandeep Sankhla Chowk, The Times of India reported. His Ashoka Chakra dates to Republic Day 1992.
What the citation recorded
Summary, not the official text: the official awards page lists Captain Sandeep Shankla, 18 Dogra, as a posthumous recipient at Republic Day 1992 and shows no citation wording in the archived copy. Published accounts say he led a cordon and search at Zafarkhani, rescued an injured soldier and fought on after being wounded until he lost consciousness.