NB Explains | Special Forces' officer Captain Rakesh awarded Shaurya Chakra for saving lives of PM Modi and fellow citizens; Know how-

New Delhi, May 12: In a daring act, Captain Rakesh TR of the Indian Army's Para Special Forces, who saved PM Modi’s life and hundreds of fellow citizens, was awarded Shaurya Chakra by President Droupadi Murmu on May 9 at an award ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

 

 

Risking his life, he prevented a fidayeen attack and eliminated one terrorist risking his life during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public rally in Jammu last year.

 

 

Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit Jammu for a public rally on 24 April 2022.  Though heavy security was deployed for his visit to Jammu, inputs were recevied that a fidayeen attack during the rally will take place.

 

Captain Rakesh TR, Troop Commander of the 9th Battalion, Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) was handed over the responsibility for maintaining readiness to react to any terror-related incident in the region.

 

When input of likely terrorist presence was received in Jammu district, the alert troops immediately got mobilized. While on the move Captain Rakesh received input of an attack by terrorists on a security forces convoy, in which his own fatalities were suspected.

 

On reaching the contact site located in a densely populated area, Captain Rakesh quickly spotted terrorists using a quadcopter and manoeuvred tactically to place a close cordon around them.

 

On realizing that they were surrounded, terrorists started firing indiscriminately to break the cordon and move towards the civilian area. Captain Rakesh sensing imminent danger to civilian lives, pinned down one of the terrorists by bringing down heavy fire on him and then, with utter disregard for his own safety and showing nerves of steel, charged towards the terrorist and neutralized him with accurate fire.

 

For his sharp tactical acumen and unparalleled courage, while eliminating one terrorist and preventing a Fidayeen attack, Captain Rakesh TR is awarded "Shaurya Chakra".

 

 

 

 

Coming from Thorehalli in Gubbi taluk of Tumakuru district, his father Rajkumar T is a farmer while his mother, Bhagya DN, is a homemaker. His parents stay in Thorehalli and work on their coconut and areca nut farm. Apart from them, he has an elder sister who is married and settled in Bengaluru.

Rakesh was raised in Bengaluru while his father worked in a private firm in the city. He completed primary education at Sri Veena School, Nandini Layout, and did his PU and B.Com at Seshadripuram College. As he joined the National Cadet Corps (NCC), he represented Karnataka at the Thal Sainik Camp in New Delhi where he won a gold medal at the camp.

After his grandfather's death, his father returned to Thorehalli to look after the farm, while Rakesh stayed back with his mother and sister in Bengaluru.

 

As per his parents, the 2008 Mumbai attacks were a "turning point" that motivated their son to do something for the country. He completed his degree and was working in a private firm when he attended an interview with the Service Selection Board in Allahabad (now Prayagraj). Both his parents didn't want him to go to the Army, but for his dreams and determination to fulfill those dreams, they couldn't hold him back.

Rakesh joined the service as a Lieutenant on September 10, 2016, some eight years after the Mumbai attack, and won a bronze medal in training in Chennai. The medal was conferred by the then-Indian President Pranab Mukherjee.

While he has progressed well since then, his parents said they learned about him being part of the special forces only after the media reported about him winning the Shaurya Chakra. "He has shared nothing about the nature of his work with us," they said.