One vow kept, two broken - Parents, fiancée receive slain captain’s coffin in Jammu!

Guwahati/Srinagar, Jan. 28: Of all the promises Capt. Sunil Kumar Choudhary had made in the  past three months, he kept only one: to do his lieutenant colonel father proud.

The one made to his fiancée - to marry in March - and to his colleagues - to come back and  cap his Sena Medal celebrations - will be consigned to flames.

As the Tricolour-wrapped coffin arrived at the air force station at Chabua, to be taken to the slain officer's home in Jammu on a special flight, his colleagues found it hard to believe how quickly things had changed.

Only yesterday, the soldiers and officers at the army's Kopahtoli base in Tinsukia district were celebrating Capt. Choudhary's feat - the news of his being awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry on Republic Day had just come through. Almost simultaneously came the information of a few Ulfa militants hiding in a village not far from the base. As always, the captain was quick to swing into battle mode and was the first to reach the scene of action, followed by troops of the Gorkha Regiment.

It was Capt. Choudhary's last counter-insurgency operation. He was shot in the neck shortly after felling a rebel.

Today, under a weeping sky, soldiers gave the captain a guard of honour with moist eyes. Col Pramit Saxena, commanding officer of the 7/11 Gorkha Rifles, sounded both grief-stricken and proud. "He was such a committed and excellent officer of my unit. He was celebrating his Sena Medal yesterday morning but left for the encounter site after receiving information about the presence of Ulfa rebels in the village. It is a great loss to all of us and the country," Col Saxena said this afternoon.

Tributes were also paid to the captain at the headquarters of 2 Mountain Division in Dinjan before his body was taken to the Tinsukia Civil Hospital for post-mortem and embalming. It was then moved to the air force station in a six-vehicle convoy. At Jammu airport, the captain's father, Lt Col P.L. Choudhary, was unable to hold back his tears, but he thinks his son had kept his promise.

"He would always tell me that he would make me proud one day and he has done it," Col Choudhary said. The body was flown to Pathankot and it reached Kathua village in Jammu tonight. The cremation will take place tomorrow. The captain was engaged to Monika, a lecturer in a Jammu college, in October last year and the two were to be married on March 9. An inconsolable Monika, accompanied by her parents, received Capt. Choudhary's parents at Jammu airport

   'Father, do I make you feel proud of me?' Those were Capt Sunil's last words to his father.
   On Tuesday, Govindsar's hero was laid to rest

Kathua, January 29

Without being in the thick of action, Captain Sunil Chaudhury felt he was him not doing his duty.

He was such a man.

On Tuesday, they brought home to Govindsar village in Kathua and cremated him with honours deserving of his bravery. Capt Sunil, only 27, had fallen to insurgents' bullets in Assam, a day after he was decorated with Sena Medal.

Call it the irony of his death, the whole village came out to line the streets as his body was taken to the cremation grounds on an Army vehicle, to the sounds of their band playing mournful tunes.

Just 24 hours earlier, they had been preparing to celebrate Sunil's medal. The poignancy of the tragic event was evident. Lt-Colonel P. L. Choudhary, Sunil's father, broke down when the pyre was lit. "He made me proud, what else can I give to my nation? I gave two of my sons for the nation. I have lost one," he cried out. "When Sunil told me he had been decorated, he asked me: 'Father, do I make you feel proud of me?' My eyes had welled up. I wish I could tell him now: 'Son, you make me even more proud in your martyrdom'"

Captain Choudhary's mother agony was overwhelming. She fainted several times at the last rites. Flying officer Ankur Choudhary, the younger brother of the Captain who had come from Bangalore to pay homage to his gallant brother, said Sunil had died like a hero. "Sunil was a fearless man and passionate and tough soldier. 'He always volunteered to go for tough missions," he said. A family member said so fierce was Sunil's commitment that he postponed his marriage in November last year as he had to take part in an anti-insurgency operation in Assam.

Brigadier K.S. Jaswal, Sub-area commander of Kathua, was among those who paid tributes to the young man. Other top Army and civil officers, minister for health and medical education Mangat Ram Sharma and Choudhary Lal Singh, MP, were also there to say a final goodbye to Govindsar hero who died so others could live and for whom the wedding bells did not chime...

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   Sena Medal winner died in firefight with ULFA

A young Army Captain, who was honoured with the Sena Medal for gallantry on Republic Day yesterday, was killed in a fierce firefight with ULFA militants of Assam in Tinsukia district of Upper Assam today.

In the encounter inside the Mechaki reserve forest, 27-year-old Captain S K Choudhary of the 7/11 GR (Gorkha Rifles) led from the front. He was shot in the chest by the militants, two of whom were killed by the Captain and his men.

Choudhary was awarded the Sena medal for the bravery he showed last year when, in a similar encounter with the ULFA, he had killed two militants. The Captain was to marry his fiancee next month.

   R-Day Sena Medal award winner dies in encounter

ULFA militants. Kathua (Jammu & Kashmir): Twenty four hours after he was decorated with Sena Medal for gallantry on Republic Day, an Army officer was killed in a gun battle with militants near Tinsukia in Assam on Sunday.

27-year-old Captain Sunil K Choudhary was killed in an encounter with ULFA militants in Upper Assam after he shot down three rebels.Capt Choudhary had received the Sena Medal for his gallantry during a gun battle with militants in Jammu and Kashmir killing two last year.

"He used to say, 'Daddy, you will be proud of me.' That's what he has done now," Captain Choudhary's father Lt Col PL Choudhary says.

Captain Choudhary's family has been serving the army for three generations. His father and three uncles are ex-army men. His grandfather fought in the World War I.

"He always wanted to join the army. He could have joined any other arm, but he wanted to be in the Infantry. He used to say you could serve the nation by being in the Infantry," Captain Choudhary's Uncle Subedar (Retd) Sansar Chand says.

The Choudhary household was busy preparing for the young captain's wedding that had been fixed for March 9. He was due to leave on February 15 to prepare for wedlock. Now, the grieving family is preparing for a different homecoming for the gallant soldier.

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   Slain army officer given hero's farewell

JAMMU: Hundreds of people joined the funeral procession of Capt. Sunil Kumar Choudhary, who was killed in Assam Sunday while fighting the ULFA terrorists, a day after he was named a recipient of Sena Medal for gallantry on Republic Day.

Men, women and children gathered in large numbers at Sunil's house in Kathua, Jammu and Kashmir, Tuesday to receive his body.

Sunil was killed in a counter-insurgency operation at Barapathar in Assam's Tinsukia district.He had killed two ULFA militants even after being shot in the neck. He later succumbed to his injuries.

'It is a moment of great grief for all of us,' Jagdev Khajuria, a resident of Kathua town who was among hundreds waiting to receive the body since early morning, told reporters.

'The boy did the people of Kathua proud but at the cost of his life,' he said.

The body covered in the national tricolour was brought in a cavalcade from Pathankot to his residence. The Choudhary family had started celebrations Saturday after they came to know that Sunil was on the list of Sena Medal winners.

Sunil's father Lt. Col. P.L. Choudhary told reporters that he did not know what to say at this moment. 'The boy did me proud one day and the next day he was gone. Today his body has been consigned to flames,' said Choudhary.

   Remembering Capt SK Choudhary

January 27, 2008 will be etched as the one of the saddest days in our nation's history. For on that day we lost a very brave officer of the Indian army. Young Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary died fighting the ULFA terrorists in Assam's Tinsukia district on Sunday, exactly 24 hours after he was awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry

Two ULFA cadres and Captain Choudhary of the 7/11 Gorkha Regiment were killed in an encounter at Rongagora, Borpathar under Talap outpost of Doomdooma PS at around 12 noon on Sunday. Acting on a tip-off that a group of ULFA cadres were taking shelter at a house there, the Army launched an operation. The Army raided the house where the militants, including hardcore ULFA cadre Joona Bhuyan, involved in several heinous crimes, were taking shelter. Upon realising that they were about to be raided, the militants open fired to which the Army men retaliated in which Captain Choudhury and two ULFA cadres Tutu Maran alias Pallab Baruah and Jitul Dohutia alias Chandan, who belonged to the ULFA's 28 Battalion and were close aides to Bhuyan, were killed.

After a brief standoff, Capt Choudhary charged into the house, his gun blazing, taking down two militants and injured one, but the young officer, too, was hit. The entire operation was over within a matter of minutes as the rest of the militants escaped. One AK-56 rifle, two magazines, more than 100 live bullets, one mobile phone and an IED were recovered from the hide out. In the shootout, Captain SK Choudhury, who was a prime target for ULFA after he shot dead two leaders last year, sustained grievous injuries and was airlifted to the Air Force hospital at Rowraiah where he was declared dead. The ULFA cadre Bhuyan managed to escape. The Army rushed additional troops to the area to continue the search operations. Following his previous encounters, the young officer, who hails from Kathua (J&K) and is an IMA product, was already attacked twice, though unsuccessfully, by the ULFA.

killing Captain Choudhary won the Sena Medal for his courage during a similar gunbattle with militants in J&K two ultras last year. He was due to get married latter next month

We can only salute him and others like him who ensure that people like us sleep peacefully at night in our homes while these brave souls guard our nation's gates against enemies both foreign and domestic. May the young captain's soul rest in peace.

Vijay Krishna

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   Salute to a hero

It is one of those tales that leave one amazed with mystery of our lives. On Republic Day the family of Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary was cock-a-hoop with joy. Its brave son had been awarded a Sena Medal for having performed a great act of bravery in Jammu and Kashmir some time last year. The following day it received the information that their son had again excelled himself but attained martyrdom in the process in faraway Assam. Initial happiness gave way to tears of sorrow and separation. On both the occasions he was doing his duty of ridding the country of the scourge of terrorism. There is no doubt that a grateful nation will always remember his supreme sacrifice. He was the young scion of a typical soldier family of this region belonging to Govindsar in Kathua district. He was scheduled to be married to a girl of this city on March 9. The world must have come to a halt for the time being for that young woman. It always happens that whenever a person passes away the sense of personal loss is always greater in the case of family members who are associated with him in everyday life. All our hearts go to them in their moment of grief. Capt Choudhary and his family (his father and brother are also in armed forces while grandfather has served in the Indian National Army) constitute that section of our society that has made gallantry in battlefields a tradition in our part of the country.

   He was more concerned about his havildar who didn't get any medal'

With tears in his eyes, Lt Colonel P L Choudhury on Tuesday bid farewell to his eldest son, Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhury, who died fighting ULFA militants in Assam a day after being awarded the Sena Medal for gallantry.

Captain Choudhury's body was cremated with full military honours at his native village of Joginder Nagar, nearly 100 km from Jammu, this morning, in the presence of hundreds of people.

Many broke down as family members kept the clothes and other bridal finery that Choudhury was to wear on his wedding day, less than two months away, near the pyre. His fiancee, Monika, who had come along with her parents from Jammu, fell on the coffin.

Lt Col Choudhury recalled that the last time he talked to his son was on Saturday. Choudhury said he was in a hurry as he had to go on some operation.

"As he did not ring up at night, I thought the operation might have lasted long. I did not ring up next morning thinking that he might be asleep. In the afternoon, I received a call from the Army saying he was dead," said the father.

Choudhury died leading a joint operation against a group of five ULFA militants hiding in a village in the Kakopathar area close to the Arunachal border. Two of the militants were killed by Choudhury and his men.

The Captain had been awarded the Sena Medal for a previous operation against the ULFA in the same area.

His father recalled that before he joined the IMA at Dehradun, Choudhury had been pursuing MBA. He got motivated to join the Army after reading about Param Vir Chakra awardee Captain Manoj Pandey, who died during the Kargil War.

Choudhury's younger brother, Flight Lieutenant Ankur Choudhary, talked about his zest for life. "He had so many plans... he wanted to go to Goa...," he said. The last time he talked to him, Ankur added, was when he called him up to congratulate him on his Sena Medal. "He was bothered about his havildar who had also participated in the operation along with him." He was concerned that he had not got any medal.

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   Sena Medal winner killed barely after 24 hours of the award

The Sena Medal winner Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary of the Gorkha Rifles, on Republic Day laid his life in another encounter in the service of nation on January 27 barely after 24 hours he was bestowed with the award.

Captain with his team hurried to Rangagarh in Borpathar after getting information of hiding ULFA terrorists. But the 27 year Captain lost his life while leading a fierce gun battle with ULFA militants in the Tinsukia District of Upper Assam after the militant took shelter inside the Mechaki Reserve Forest. It is reported that he succumb to the injury after a bullet hit him in his neck.

Hailing from Jammu and Kashmir this young officer was awarded Sena Medal for his bravery when he shot dead two militants in a similar encounter. Captain had led many such counter insurgency operations and had involved in several acts of bravery, also was in the hit list of the terrorist.

He was the son of an Army Officer Lt Colonel P.K Choudhary posted at Army Air Defense records in Nasik and was about to marry his fiancée in March this year and had applied for leaves. His body will be flown to his home village of Kathua in Jammu for his last rite tomorrow with full military honour.

Reportedly prominent ULFA cadre Joona Bhuyan too were in the hide outs in Mechaki forest but he could manage to escape, but two other militants Chandan Dohotia and Tutu Moran from ULFA's 28th battalion were killed in the encounter.

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