Captain Vikram Batra of 13 JAK Rifles took Point 5140 in June 1999 and was killed on 7 July 1999 in the fight for Point 4875.
Point 5140, 20 June 1999
Delta Company of 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles, under Captain Vikram Batra, was sent against Point 5140 in the Drass sector on 20 June 1999. The enemy positions there overlooked the Srinagar-Leh road.
The company went round the feature from the east and reached assaulting distance with surprise intact. Batra reorganised the column and led the assault, killing four intruders in hand-to-hand fighting. His success signal after the capture was "Yeh Dil Mange More", as the Ministry of Defence profile records it.
The ridge at Point 4875
On 7 July 1999 his company was given a narrow feature with sharp cuttings on either side and fortified defences covering the only approach. To speed things up, he chose to attack along a narrow ridge.
Leading the assault, he killed five enemy soldiers at point-blank range and was grievously wounded. He then crawled towards the enemy and threw grenades that cleared the position. He died of his injuries. His troops pressed on and captured Point 4875.
Palampur to Drass
Batra was born on 9 September 1974, the elder of twin sons of Girdhari Lal and Kamal Batra of Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. He joined the NCC at DAV College, Chandigarh.
He was commissioned on 6 December 1997, nineteen months before his death.
The citation
CAPTAIN VIKRAM BATRA (IC-57556), 13 JAMMU AND KASHMIR RIFLES. (POSTHUMOUS) (Effective date of the Award : 07th July, 1999)
In Drass Sector, the enemy held strong fortified positions, heavily reinforced with automatic weapons, with treacherous approaches dominating Srinagar-Leh Road, the life line of supplies to Leh.
On 20 Jun 1999, Captain Vikram Batra, Commander Delta Company, was tasked to attack Pt 5140 during Operation VIJAY. Capt Vikram Batra, with his company, skirted around the feature from the East and maintaining surprise reached within assaulting distance. The officer reorganised his column and motivated his men to physically assault the enemy positions. Leading his men from the front, the officer in a daredevil assault pounced on the enemy and killed four intruders in a hand to hand fight.
On 07 July 1999, in yet another operation in the area of Point 4875, the company of the officer was tasked to clear a narrow feature with sharp cuttings on either side; and heavily fortified enemy defences, that covered the only approach to it.
In order to speed up the operation, the officer decided to assault the enemy positions along a narrow ridge. Leading the assault, he engaged the enemy in a fierce hand to hand fight and killed five enemy soldiers at point blank range. In this action, Capt Batra sustained grievous injuries. Despite the serious injuries, he crawled towards the enemy and hurled grenades clearing the position. Leading from the front he rallied his men and pressed on the attack and achieved a near impossible military task in the face of heavy enemy fire with utter disregard to personal safety. The officer however succumbed to his injuries.
Inspired by this display of extraordinary junior leadership, the troops fell upon the enemy with vengeance and annihilated them, finally capturing Pt 4875.
Captain Vikram Batra, thus displayed the most conspicuous personal bravery and junior leadership of the highest order in the face of enemy and made the supreme sacrifice in the highest tradition of the Army.
Source: Ministry of Defence gallantry awards record. Reproduced as printed, including any errors in the original.
Cover image: Krishna Chaitanya Velaga, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized for this page. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Captain_Vikram_Batra_statue_at_Param_Yodha_Sthal_Delhi.jpg