Rajeev Sandhu

2nd Lieutenant Rajeev Sandhu was born in Chandigarh on 12 Nov 1966 in a military family. His father Shri Devinder Singh Sandhu was an Indian Air Force officer and his grandfather had served in the Indian National Army (INA) during the Second World War.[3]

2nd Lieutenant Rajeev Sandhu commissioned into the Assam Regiment on 5 March 1988. In June 1988, 2nd Lieutenant Rajeev Sandhu was transferred to 19 Madras battalion and deployed to Sri Lanka as part of the Indian Peace Keeping Force.

On 19 July 1988 he was leading a convoy of 2 vehicles. The convoy was ambushed by LTTE guerrillas and came under heavy automatic and Rocket Launcher fire.[4]

2nd Lt Rajeev Sandhu seated in co-driver’s seat received the direct hit of the rocket that mutilated both his legs and he was totally crippled. Two men were killed instantly and another badly wounded. While grievously injured, 2nd Lt Rajeev Sandhu managed to roll out of his vehicle and crawled to a fire position nearby. Despite his legs being shattered and having taken multiple bullet wounds, he shot one militant dead, who was later identified as a senior commander in the area. 2nd Lt Rajeev Sandhu, determinedly held on to his position and the militants from recovering the body of dead militant or take away weapons. When reinforcements arrived, he signaled the reinforcement troop to outflank the militants to prevent their escape. After the encounter was over, he instructed the wounded and dead soldiers to be evacuated first and removal of weapons to be completed. Due to heavy loss of blood, he slipped into coma and passed away while being evacuated. For displaying courage, professionalism and selflessness he was posthumously awarded the Maha Vir Chakra.

• Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War
• Indian Peace Keeping Force