Martyred soldier who killed 10 guerrillas in J-K awarded Ashok Chakra

Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami, who killed 10 guerrillas in 11 days before attaining martyrdom, was posthumously awarded Ashok Chakra -- the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award -- by President Pranab Mukhejree on Tuesday.

The soldier of the army’s elite special forces made the supreme sacrifice while fighting the terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. The award was received by Bhavna Goswami, widow of Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami, on the country’s 67th Republic Day.

On September 2, 2015, Lance Naik Goswami was engaged in a fierce gunfight with terrorists hiding in the Hafruda forests in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. As the gun battle raged, two of Lance Naik Goswami’s comrades were wounded.

Undeterred by the intense volley of fire, he rushed to rescue them and in the act -- despite getting grievously wounded himself -- he not only eliminated two terrorists but also saved the lives of his comrades.

The citation read out on the occasion said that Lance Naik Goswami succumbed to his injuries in the highest traditions of the Indian Army.

The martyred commando hailed from Indira Nagar village in Haldwani tehsil of Nainital district, Uttarakhand, and is survived by his wife and a seven-year-old daughter. He had killed 10 guerrillas in 11 days before attaining martyrdom.

Ashok Chakra is the peace-time equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra, awarded for acts of bravery on the battle front. It is awarded for the “most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice” other than in the face of the enemy.