Havildar Rakesh Chandra belonged to Sankar village in Pauri tehsil of Pauri Garhwal district in Uttarakhand. He joined the army and was recruited into the Mahar Regiment in the year of 1996. During 2018, Havildar Rakesh Chandra’s unit was deployed in J&K and was stationed in the Sunjuwan camp of 36 Brigade.
| Place of Birth | Pauri, Uttarakhand |
| Rank | Havildar |
| Unit | 6 Mahar |
| Regiment | Mahar Regiment |
| Date of Martyrdom | 10th February 2018 |
On 10th February 2018 in the early morning, a group of heavily armed terrorists struck the camp of the 36 brigades of Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry at Sunjuwan. The soldiers and their families were sleeping when the terrorists struck in the dark, firing indiscriminately. Hony Lt Madan Lal Choudry heard the gunshot sound in the quarters and immediately rushed towards the door, where terrorists were present. Hony Lt Choudhary in a rare display of courage did not allow the terrorists to enter his house. Hony Lt Madan Lal Choudhary was shot from a close range and got martyred. Soon Army personnel in bullet-proof vehicles got engaged in the operation to rescue people from the family quarters in the rear side of the base. Subsequently, the army’s special forces also joined the operation against the terrorists which continued for nearly 72 hours, when all of them were finally neutralized. During the intense operation with a heavy exchange of fire, Sub Mohd Ashraf Mir, Havildar Habibullah Quareshi, Havildar Rakesh Chandra, Naik Manzoor Ahmed Deva & Lance Naik Mohd Iqbal Sheikh got severely injured and later succumbed to their injuries.
Havildar Rakesh Chandra is survived by his wife Nanda Devi, daughter Kiran and son Nitin.
