Hav Kulwant Singh hailed from Chak Sharif village in Gurdaspur district of Punjab. He joined the army at the age of 19 years and retired in 2004. He later joined the Defence Service Corps in 2006 and served in various defence bases. In the later part of 2015, Hav Kulwant Singh got transferred to 1055 DSC Platoon based at Air Force Station Pathankot. His family was very happy about his transfer as this was the first time in his 30 years of service that he had got posted to a place near to his hometown in nearby Gurdaspur.

Pathankot Attack: 01 Jan 2016

On 01 January 2016, the Pathankot Air Force Station of the Indian Air Force was attacked by a heavily armed group. They were disguised in Indian Army uniforms and made use of the tall elephant grass in the Air Force Base for concealing their movement. Upon infiltrating the base, they advanced towards the area where the high-value asset vehicles were kept with an intention to cause the maximum damage. But they were soon intercepted by the Indian security forces. In the ensuing 15-hour gun battle, 4 attackers and two security force personnel from the Defence Security Corps were killed along with one commando of the elite IAF’s special Guard unit.

On 03 Jan, Lt Col Niranjan, who was commanding the Bomb Disposal Unit of the National Security Guard (NSG), was martyred during combing operations to sanitize the area for safe movement of troops. The combing operation was conducted jointly by the Army , NSG, IAF, paramilitary forces, and Punjab Police. The operation went on until the 5th of January when the last attacker was reportedly neutralized. In the entire exchange, 7 security personnel, one civilian and 4-6 attackers were killed. The operation launched to eliminate this threat by the India Army was called ‘Operation Dhangu’.

On the night 02 Jan 2016 at 0330 hr, five to six heavily armed terrorists entered the lines and opened indiscriminate fire on the troops. Havildar Kulwant Singh fought bravely but got wounded during the exchange of fire. He later succumbed to his injuries and was martyred. He was awarded with the gallantry award, “Sena Medal” for his courage, devotion to duty and supreme sacrifice. Havildar Kulwant Singh is survived by his mother, wife and two sons.

Source:https://www.honourpoint.in/