Lieutenant Colonel Niranjan E.K.
Lieutenant Colonel
Died
9 Jan 2016
Honours
About
NSG Explosive Ordnance Disposal officer on deputation from the Corps of Engineers who died after a booby-trapped terrorist body detonated during area sanitisation at Pathankot Airbase, shielding his entire team with his own body.
Full Story
During the Pathankot Airbase attack of January 2016, Jaish-e-Mohammed militants engaged security forces for several days before being neutralised. Lieutenant Colonel Niranjan Kumar Singh of the NSG's EOD unit — on deputation from the Corps of Engineers, Indian Army — led the post-operation sanitisation sweep. While checking a neutralised terrorist's body for booby traps, a concealed IED detonated. Acting instinctively, Niranjan Kumar Singh absorbed most of the blast, shielding the five personnel behind him from the full force of the explosion. He was critically wounded and succumbed to his injuries on 9 January 2016. His sacrifice saved the lives of his entire team. He was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra on Independence Day 2016.