Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami AC was a soldier in the 9 Para (SF) of the Parachute Regiment of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. He was posthumously awarded the

Ashoka Chakra Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

, India's highest peacetime military decoration. On 3 September 2015, while serving with the 9th battalion of the Parachute Regiment, Goswami was killed in an ambush operation while fighting four terrorists in Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir. For his actions in Kupwara, he was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra.

Early life

Goswami a Kumaoni was born in Indira Nagar-I village in Lalkuan, Nainital, Uttarakhand, India. He had one daughter, Bhumika Goswami, with his wife Bhawna. His father had also served in the Army.

Military career

Goswami volunteered to join the elite Parachute Regiment of the Indian Army in 2002. He was actively involved in three operations in which ten terrorists were killed and one captured alive in his last 11 days. The first operation was conducted in Khurmur,

Handwara Handwara is a sub-district and a town in Kupwara district of Kashmir. It was known as Uttar Machipora until the division of Baramulla district in the 1980s resulting in the formation of two new districts: Kupwara and Bandipora. It is located on ...

, on 23 August 2015 and resulted in the elimination of three

Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT; ur, ; literally ''Army of the Good'', translated as ''Army of the Righteous'', or ''Army of the Pure'' and alternatively spelled as ''Lashkar-e-Tayyiba'', ''Lashkar-e-Toiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Taiba'', ''Lashkar-i-Tayyeba'') ...

terrorists. He then volunteered for second operation in Rafiabad. The operation, which lasted over two days, led to the elimination of three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists and the capture of one terrorist, Sajjad Ahmad alias Abu Ubed Ullah. Goswami's last operation was on 3 September 2015, where he was part of an ambush team. He was injured during the gunfight and succumbed to his wounds, but not before killing two and wounding another two terrorists. Goswami's body was flown by an

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

aircraft to

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

, from where it was taken by an army helicopter to

Pantnagar Pantnagar is a town and a university campus in Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand. Nainital, Kashipur, Rudrapur and Kiccha, Haldwani are the major cities surrounding Pantnagar. The town is home to the first agricultural university of I ...

and on to his birthplace. He was cremated with full military honours in his native village.

Ashok Chakra

The Ashoka Chakra citation for Mohan Goswami reads: :::

''On the intervening night of 02/03 September 2015 Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami was part of an ambush in Haphruda forest at Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. At about 20:15hrs, there was a fierce encounter with four terrorists wherein two of his comrades were injured and pinned down. Lance Naik Mohan along with his buddy dashed forward to rescue their injured colleagues, knowing well the risks to their own lives. He first assisted in eliminating one terrorist. Sensing grave danger to three of his wounded colleagues, Lance Naik Mohan with utter disregard to his own personal safety, charged at the remaining terrorists drawing intense fire from them. He was hit in the thigh. Unmindful, he closed in and eliminated one terrorist, injured another and was again shot in the abdomen. Undeterred by his injuries, he hurled himself on the last terrorist and killed him at point blank range before succumbing to his wounds. Lance Naik Mohan not only killed two terrorists, but also assisted in neutralizing the other two and save the lives of three of his wounded colleagues. Thus, Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami exhibited most conspicuous gallantry in personally eliminating two terrorists and assisting in evacuation of his wounded colleagues and made supreme sacrifice in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.''

References

External links

Lance Naik Mohan Goswami will be cremated with full military honour-యూట్యూబ్ వీడియో

Army officer dead after killing 10 militants, capturing one
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goswami, Lance Naik Mohan 2015 deaths Indian Army personnel Recipients of the Ashoka Chakra (military decoration) Ashoka Chakra