Shaurya Chakra awardee MARCOS commando killed in Kangra road accident
Shaurya Chakra awardee survived high-risk anti-terror operations, leaves behind wife and four-year-old son.
Amit Singh Rana Shaurya Chakra awardee and elite Marine Commandos (MARCOS) operator Amit Singh Rana, 32, was killed after his car plunged nearly 500 feet into a gorge in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district late on Monday night.
Rana, a Leading Mechanical Engineer (LME) in the Indian Navy and a member of its elite special forces unit, was driving through the Lahadu area near Khandian in the Jwalamukhi region when the accident occurred around 11 pm. He was reportedly returning home after meeting a friend when his vehicle skidded off a sharp bend and fell into the deep gorge.
Local residents launched a rescue operation and managed to pull him out around midnight before rushing him to Khandian Hospital. However, doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The incident has triggered criticism among local residents over the condition of roads in the area, with many pointing to the absence of crash barriers and inadequate lighting along hazardous stretches.
A third-generation soldier from a family with a long military tradition, Rana hailed from the Laharu-Khundian area of Jwalamukhi tehsil. He is survived by his parents, wife, four-year-old son and two sisters.
His last rites were performed with full military honours in his native village on Tuesday. Jwalamukhi MLA Sanjay Ratna was among those who paid tributes. Local Army units conducted the ceremonial honours.
Rana was among the Indian Navy’s most highly trained commandos and had been deployed under Operation Rakshak in Jammu and Kashmir since 2018. He was awarded the Shaurya Chakra, the country’s third-highest peacetime gallantry award, for displaying exceptional courage during counter-terrorism operations in the Valley.
According to his gallantry citation, Rana played a key role in two operations in 2018 that led to the neutralisation of eight foreign terrorists. During Operation Danna, he engaged terrorists at close quarters while providing cover to his team leader. In another operation, Shok Baba, conducted on September 20-21, 2018, he volunteered to advance under intense enemy fire and place a heavy improvised explosive device on a fortified terrorist hideout, leading to its destruction and the elimination of three terrorists.
The gallantry award was announced on the eve of Independence Day in 2019 and was later conferred by President Ram Nath Kovind in 2021.
Tributes poured in from across the defence community and Himachal Pradesh. Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri described Rana’s death as a major loss for both the state and the nation.
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