Remembering Major Mohit Sharma AC SM on his 45th birth anniversary
Bravery came easy to Major Mohit Sharma. Decorated twice in the very beginning of his career for gallantry, before attaining Veergati.
The Para Special Forces officer is a legendary figure in military circles for carrying out one of the most sophisticated and deep undercover operations in the modern military history of the country.
He was awarded two gallantry decorations earlier in his career. The first was the COAS Commendation card for exemplary counter-terrorism duties during Operation Rakshak, which was followed by a Sena Medal (Gallantry) for a “covert operation” in 2005.
Major Mohit Sharma aka Iftikhar Bhatt
In 2004, Maj Sharma through extensive surveillance and the groundwork established contact with two Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists named Abu Torara and Abu Sabzar, under the alias of Iftikhar Bhatt.
The Hizbul terrorists assigned him the task to carry out a strike on one of the Indian outposts, whose decoy hand-drawn map of army movement was presented to non other than Major Mohit himself.
During the long drawn operation when he realised his cover is about to be blown, Major Mohit flung out his loaded 9-mm pistol and shot both of them dead. Two to the chest, one to the head – just how the special forces are trained to do.
Five years after his incredible counter-terrorist operation for which he recieved Sena Medal in 2005, Major Sharma found himself in familiar territory once again after being deployed in Kupwara, Kashmir.
Based on the information received from intelligence about the infiltration attempt by some terrorists in the Kupwara district, the security forces decided to launch a search and destroy operation on 21 Mar 2009.
During a firefight with the terrorists in the the thick Haphruda jungle in Kupwara district, Major Sharma killed two terrorists in close combat and rescued many of his colleagues before being hit on the chest with a bullet and succumbing to his injuries later.
The special forces officer as his citation read “a daring act of valour” rescued two of his comrades and killed four pakistani terrorists during a fierce encounter in the Kupwara sector of Jammu and Kashmir on 21 March 2009.
He was Chintu at Home,
Mike at NDA,
Iftikar in Kashmir,
Major Mohit Sharma for India