Meet Major Vivek Singh Bhandral: 21 Para SF Officer Who Killed Two Terrorists Despite Being Gravely Wounded

On 29 August 2002, deep inside the forests of the Machhal sector in Kupwara, a search party of 21 Para (Special Forces) was closing in on a militant hideout when the operation suddenly turned into a close-quarter firefight. Two terrorists burst out of a house and opened fire on the troops. Within moments, the leading scout and the squad commander were wounded. Major Vivek Singh Bhandral took the fight forward. He killed one terrorist at close range, pursued the second into a nearby grove and continued the assault even after being struck by a burst of machine-gun fire. Bleeding heavily, he refused to disengage and pressed forward until the second terrorist was eliminated. Shortly afterwards, he succumbed to his injuries. He was just 32 years old.

For his courage and leadership in the operation, Major Bhandral was awarded the Sena Medal posthumously. His final action became a powerful example of the kind of leadership demanded in Special Forces operations, where carefully prepared plans can turn within seconds into brutal encounters fought at extremely short distances. With members of his team already wounded and the situation rapidly deteriorating, Major Bhandral chose to remain at the forefront of the engagement and ensure that the threat was neutralised.

Major Vivek Singh Bhandral was born on 16 June 1970 at a military hospital in Hyderabad. His family hailed from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh and had strong ties with the Armed Forces. His father, Colonel Pritam Singh Bhandral (Retired), had served in the Maratha Light Infantry, while his mother, Smt Rajkumari Bhandral, looked after the family as Army postings took them across the country. Vivek was the elder of two sons, with his younger brother Vikram Bhandral growing up alongside him in the military environment.

Because of his father's Army service, Vivek's childhood was spent in several parts of India. His schooling took him through Kangra, Belgaum, Jalandhar, Assam and Udhampur. He later completed a degree in Commerce, but rather than pursuing a civilian career, he chose to follow the military path. He cleared the Combined Defence Services Examination and joined the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun in July 1991.

On 19 December 1992, Vivek Bhandral passed out of the Indian Military Academy and was commissioned as a Lieutenant into 9 Maratha Light Infantry. The connection with the Maratha Light Infantry carried particular meaning because his father had served in the same regimental family. However, conventional infantry soldiering would not be the limit of his military career. He soon volunteered for the Special Forces.

After completing the demanding selection and training process, he joined 21 Para (Special Forces) in 1995. The move placed him among troops trained for some of the Army's most difficult missions, including counter-insurgency, reconnaissance and operations in hostile terrain. Over the following years, Major Bhandral developed into an accomplished Special Forces officer.

His professional qualifications reflected the range of skills required of such an officer. He completed the Commando Course, Young Officers' Course and Signals Course and also qualified as a combat free-faller. His abilities were recognised beyond operational deployments when he was selected to serve as an instructor at the All Arms Wing of the Military College of Telecommunication Engineering at Mhow. The appointment reflected confidence not only in his field experience but also in his ability to train other soldiers and officers.

Long before his final operation in Machhal, Major Bhandral had already served in areas where the Indian Army was actively engaged in combat and counter-insurgency operations. During his deployment in Assam, he participated in Operation Rhino against insurgent groups operating in the Northeast.

When the Kargil conflict erupted in 1999, he served during Operation Vijay and led Special Forces teams on demanding missions. His leadership and devotion to duty during the conflict earned him the Chief of the Army Staff Commendation Card. It was an important recognition of an officer whose operational career was already being shaped by difficult assignments.

By 2002, 21 Para (SF) was operating in Jammu and Kashmir during Operation Parakram. The period following the December 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament saw large-scale mobilisation along India's western frontier alongside intensified counter-infiltration and counter-terrorism operations in Jammu and Kashmir. Kupwara, particularly areas close to the Line of Control such as Machhal, remained challenging terrain for security forces because of its thick forests, steep slopes and infiltration routes.

It was in this environment that Major Bhandral and his men were tasked with a search-and-destroy operation on 29 August 2002. Intelligence had indicated the presence of heavily armed terrorists in the forests of the Machhal sector, and a team from 21 Para (SF) moved in to locate and neutralise them.

At around midday, as the troops closed in on the suspected hideout, two terrorists suddenly emerged from a house and opened intense fire in an apparent attempt to break the cordon. The leading scout and the squad commander were wounded in the initial exchange. Their injuries created an extremely dangerous situation, with casualties requiring attention while armed terrorists were still attempting to escape.

Major Bhandral immediately took control of the engagement. Rather than allowing the terrorists to exploit the confusion created by the first burst of fire, he moved against them. He engaged the first terrorist at very close range and killed him.

The second terrorist escaped towards a nearby grove and continued firing. Major Bhandral pursued him rather than allowing him to disappear into the forest. During the ensuing fight, he used a grenade and continued closing in on the militant's position. It was during this phase of the engagement that he was struck by machine-gun fire.

Despite suffering serious wounds and losing blood, Major Bhandral continued the pursuit. He refused to break contact and pressed the attack until the second terrorist was also killed. By the end of the encounter, both terrorists had been neutralised and the wounded members of the team could be evacuated. Major Bhandral, however, had sustained fatal injuries and succumbed shortly afterwards.

The sequence of events made his final action particularly significant. He had entered the engagement after members of his team were wounded, killed one terrorist at close quarters, pursued another into difficult terrain, suffered serious gunshot wounds and still continued fighting until the threat had been eliminated. His actions helped protect his men at the cost of his own life.

Major Vivek Singh Bhandral was subsequently awarded the Sena Medal posthumously for his gallantry. Accounts commemorating his sacrifice have highlighted his leadership, fieldcraft and determination to continue the operation despite being critically wounded. Army remembrance posts over the years have similarly recalled his courage and his role in ensuring that the terrorists were neutralised while his wounded comrades were extricated.

Among those who served with and remembered him, Major Bhandral also came to be associated with the informal name "Cheetah", a reflection of the speed, aggression and determination for which he was remembered. It was not an official military title, but the kind of nickname that can become closely associated with an officer within the fraternity in which he served.

His military career had lasted less than a decade, yet it had taken him from the Maratha Light Infantry to the Special Forces, from counter-insurgency operations in Assam to the Kargil conflict and finally to the forests of Kashmir. He had trained as a commando and combat free-faller, served as an instructor at Mhow and earned recognition for his service during Operation Vijay before receiving the Sena Medal for his final action.

Major Vivek Singh Bhandral's story ultimately rests on what happened during those few violent minutes in Machhal. With two soldiers wounded and two terrorists attempting to escape, he chose to take the fight forward. Even after being critically hit, he continued until the second terrorist had been eliminated.

The 32-year-old officer from a military family in Kangra had followed his father into the Army, earned his commission from the Indian Military Academy, served with 9 Maratha Light Infantry and then volunteered for the demanding life of a Special Forces operator. On 29 August 2002, that journey ended in the forests of Kupwara.

More than two decades later, Major Vivek Singh Bhandral, SM (Posthumous), is remembered not simply for the decoration that followed his death, but for the actions that earned it. In the final engagement of his life, he remained with his men, continued fighting despite his wounds and completed the mission. His Sena Medal recorded his gallantry; his story preserves the memory of the officer behind it.