A shutosh Kumar was born on 15 Oct 1996 in Parmanpur village of district Madhepura in Bihar to Ravindra Yadav and Geeta Devi.
He did his schooling from Sainik School Bhubaneswar, Odisha. His inclination towards the Armed Forces grew and the foundation of his future military life was laid. Shy and sober, yet firm in his resolve, he joined the school in 2007 and lived in Yamuna House. He loved gardening and enjoyed painting, solving Sudoku, poetry and playing hockey. He was a good orator too.
His teachers at Sainik School appreciated his brilliance in academics apart from his being an exemplary SSB cadet. His journey from an unknown village of Bihar to NDA was creditable. Though he could have easily cracked NEET or JEE, Ashutosh’s sights were set on the armed forces.
After clearing SSB from Allahabad, he joined 132 nd Course of the National Defence Academy (NDA). He later went to IMA, Dehradun and was commissioned as a Lieutenant in June 2018 at 21. He got commissioned into 18 Madras of the Madras Regiment, an infantry Regiment well known for its dauntless soldiers and numerous battle exploits. As a young Lieutenant, he got posted to J&K area as his first assignment. He soon evolved into a committed soldier and a fine officer with superior field-craft skills.
During Nov 2020, 18 Madras was deployed in Kupwara district of J&K close to the Line of Control (LoC). The unit troops were engaged in counter-insurgency operations as its AoR (Area of Operation) was affected by militancy. The LoC was volatile with frequent ceasefire violations. Besides manning the forward posts in Machil sector in Kupwara district, the unit also undertook operations to check the infiltration bids as its AoR was prone to infiltration from across the border. On 8 th November 2020, one such infiltration bid was reported by the Border Security Force patrol at around 0100 hours about 3.5 km from the LOC.
18 Madras were rushed in take on the infiltrators. Ashutosh was performing duties of the Ghatak Platoon Commander close to the Line of Control (LoC). On receipt of information of likely escape of terrorists, he proceeded to establish stops along the likely routes of escape and spotted the terrorists. Ashutosh Kumar and his team swung into action to foil the infiltration. The contact with the militants was lost around 0400 hrs but was re-established at around 1020 hrs as the infiltrators were being tracked through surveillance devices.
Capt. Ashutosh Kumar deployed his troops tactically to block the possible escape routes and engaged them aggressively. In the ensuing fierce gun-battle three militants were eliminated. However, Capt. Ashutosh Kumar and four othersreceived gun shots and were seriously injured. Later Capt. Ashutosh Kumar and two more soldiers Havaldar Praveen Kumar and Rifleman Ryada Maheshwar succumbed to their injuries and were martyred. Capt. Ashutosh Kumar was a valiant soldier and a fine officer, who led from the front and laid down his life in the line of his duty.
He was awarded Shaurya Chakra posthumously for ‘displaying indomitable courage and professional acumen of the highest order in saving his fellow soldier’s life and eliminating hardcore terrorist with utter disregard to his own safety’. The authorities have named one of the entry points to the school and SSB Training zone as Ashutosh-Dwar. His name has been engraved on the stone slabs of the ‘Martyrs Memorial’ of Sainik School, informed Shri Sidhewar Nayak, a teacher at Sainik School, Bhubaneswar.
Wreath laying ceremony was organised at the ‘Hut of Remembrance’ at the NDA on 10 th November 2020, in the soldier’s honour. The NDA Commandant Lieutenant General Asit Mistry paid homage to the braveheart in a solemn ceremony on behalf of the NDA fraternity. He lived up to the motto of NDA – ‘Service before Self’. His martyrdom will continue to inspire future generations of NDA cadets.