On a summer day in 2017, in a Chhattisgarh forest, the cries of birds and humming of insects were interrupted by a rifle shot that pierced the morning stillness, putting Constable Kamlesh Singh and his commando team from 201 Cobra Battalion, on their toes.
Singh, who received a ‘Police Medal’ for gallantry at the recent investiture ceremony at CRPF headquarters in Kolkata, recalled to The Statesman the fateful day when during ‘Operation Prahar’, dodging bullets from Maoists to fulfil his mission, gained priority over mortal concerns.
This was the first-ever medal he won and the last thing he is likely to ever forget. Constable Singh recalled that before the operation was launched on 23 June 2017, 17 CRPF jawans were killed in firing by the Maoists on 11 March while 25 more were martyred on 24 April.
On 23 June, at 4 a.m., Constable Singh and his team received orders to raid a Maoist base. Led by their commander, the units of the battalion reached the spot but didn’t find anyone there. The sun had set but their team kept scouring the area when they spotted one of their targets by a canal, washing clothes. Singh said in the blink of an eye the target spotted them and disappeared into the forest. Their team chased him, crossed the canal, but could only find a bonfire burning in the quietude of the forest.
With the fall of night, the commandos trekked up a hill under the moonlight, camped there, but Singh recalled they never closed their eyes for a second since at the break of midnight they heard sounds of vehicles moving goods. It was about 6:30 a.m. the next day they began climbing down upon receiving word that a Special Task Force and a DRG team have been attacked and seven people were injured.
Singh and his team drew heavy fire on reaching the spot and three jawans died. The Maoists, however, began withdrawing once again into the wild but kept on firing. His team was ordered to secure an area for an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter to land so it could carry the injured and the dead to the hospital. Accomplishing this task successfully, the battalion next was targeted by Maoist snipers. Singh and his team retaliated with their assault rifles but soon switched to rocket launchers to stem the tactical firing by the enemy. In the volley of bullet exchanges, the commandos hit two Maoists.
Without a second thought, dodging bullets, Kamlesh Singh ran to retrieve the bodies while his teammates Deepchand Singh and Lekhraj provided him with cover fire. They secured arms, cash, and a memory card which helped them in gaining adequate information to further their mission.
For Kamlesh Singh, the operation though was a tour de force, the feeling of not letting the deaths of his fellowmen go in vain mattered the most.