Rajesh Kumar (soldier)

Havildar Rajesh Kumar was a soldier with the 11th Battalion of the Rajputana Rifles, an Indian military unit. On 1 August 2009, he was leading a section of the Ghatak team that was on a search mission for terrorists in the forests of Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. He opened fire on the terrorists and killed three of them, saved his teammates, but got seriously hurt in the process. Finally he succumbed to injuries. He was posthumously awarded the Ashoka Chakra, the highest peacetime military decoration in India.

The citation by the President of India during the awarding of the Ashoka Chakra read: Havildar Rajesh Kumar showed unparalleled feat of most conspicuous gallantry, fortitude and the rare spirit of self sacrifice in fighting the terrorists.