Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan: DO NOT COME UP; I WILL HANDLE THEM
Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan: DO NOT COME UP; I WILL HANDLE THEM
The Indian Army is considered a symbol of indomitable valor and courage, with countless stories of heroism and sacrifice that continue to inspire the nation. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan is one such symbol of sacrifice and oblation…From the moment he joined the army, he played a crucial role in the victory during the Kargil War and later made the supreme sacrifice for the nation while chasing away the terrorists in the 26/11 attack in Mumbai.
On the night of 26-27 November 2008, when India’s financial capital Mumbai was under cowardly terrorist attacks, Major Sandeep was leading a team to rescue people trapped in Hotel Taj. He entered the hotel with a team of 10 commandos and showered bullets on the terrorists. After taking one of his comrades to a safe place, he chased the terrorists. The terrorists, terrified of him, escaped to the second floor. While he was rescuing some people in the midst of continuous firing, a terrorist fired continuously at him from behind. Sandeep was badly injured in this attack, and he attained martyrdom. When Major Unnikrishnan’s body wrapped in the tricolor was brought to Bangalore, a large number of people, including his family members and friends, paid tribute to this braveheart with tearful eyes. Major Sandeep not only saved his comrades but also stopped them, saying, “Don’t come up; I will handle them.” His extraordinary courage and leadership inspired his comrades to eliminate all the terrorists and successfully complete the mission assigned to them. He was awarded the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award, the Ashok Chakra, on 26 January 2009. Born on March 15, 1977, in Kozhikode, Kerala, Sandeep Unnikrishnan was one such brave soldier who made a distinct identity in his early days in the NDA. During the Kargil war in 1999, Unnikrishnan of the Bihar Regiment led a team of six soldiers and captured an important post of the enemy. Major Unnikrishnan, an officer of the Bihar Regiment, was commissioned in the Indian Army in June 1999, and in January 2007 he was made the training commander of the Special Operations Group of the NSG.His father, who works at ISRO, once told in one of his memoirs about Unnikrishnan that Sandeep always wanted our country to win. When India lost a match, he would get very disappointed. Whenever any project of ISRO failed, he would console me. He did not like defeat. Sandeep did not want to see any mother crying over the dead body of any of his colleagues. This is why he often used to say that his mother should also not cry but bear this sorrow.