Mangerira Chinnappa Muthanna

Major Mangerira Chinnappa Muthanna was born in Chettimani village (near Bhagamandala), Kodagu district (Coorg) on 21st April 1964. He joined OTA, Chennai in Oct 1984 and was commissioned into the 5th Battalion the Sikh Light Infantry on 24th Oct 1985. He served the 5 Sikh Light Infantry-Hq 1 Sector Rashtriya Rifles. He died on January 12, 2000, aged 36 years, while fighting with terrorists of Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) in Ananthnag, Jammu and Kashmir. He was awarded with the Shaurya Chakra posthumously. To commemorate him, a statue of the martyr was unveiled in front of the Madikeri City Municipal Council (CMC) Hall and Kodagu named the municipal circle in front of Cauvery Kalakshethra (Town Hall) after him on Thursday, December 9, 2000. This became the fourth traffic junction in Madikeri that was named after a hero. The statue, made of granite stone, was sculpted at a cost of Rs. 8 lakh by sculptor Manjunath Acharya of Beetikatte in Somwarpet. In Khanbal district of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army named a road, a recreation hall and a school after Major Muthanna.