New Delhi, December 2 (). There have been many brave soldiers in the history of the Indian Army. Who, without caring for his life, not only defeated the enemies but also made the country proud. One such brave young man is Lance Naik Albert Ekka.
Lance Naik Albert Ekka was born in Gumla district of Jharkhand on 27 December 1942 to Maryam and Julius Ekka. Since childhood, Albert was adept at shooting and also played hockey very well. During a district tournament, Subedar Major Bhagirath Soren of the 7th Bihar Battalion noticed him and recruited Albert in his battalion.
Albert Ekka joined ‘C’ Company of the 7th Bihar Battalion and later became a proud Guardsman of the 32nd Guards Battalion. On December 3, 1971, Pakistan bombed Indian airports and the war began.
In the 1971 war, the Indian Army adopted an aggressive strategy on the Eastern Front to isolate the eastern part of Pakistan (today’s Bangladesh). Defense strategy was adopted on the western front so that the enemy could not capture Indian territory.
Meanwhile, at 2 am on 3 December 1971, Lance Naik Albert Ekka was part of a detachment that attacked a strong enemy post in the Ganga Sagar area. The enemy position was very strong and secure.
During the attack, Indian soldiers came under heavy fire, but they moved forward and attacked the enemy. During this time, Albert Ekka noticed that an enemy light machine gun was causing the most damage to his troop. Without caring for his life, he attacked the bunker and killed two enemies.
Then firing from a medium machine gun started from the second floor of a house. Albert Ekka was already wounded, but he still crawled to the building and threw a grenade into the bunker. One enemy was killed and another wounded.
Still, the firing continued, so Albert Ekka climbed the wall and entered the bunker and faced the enemy. They destroyed both the dangerous targets, which were causing heavy losses to the Indian soldiers.
But during this indomitable courage he was seriously injured and ultimately martyred. For his extraordinary bravery, he was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra.
Pakistan was defeated in this battle and later East Pakistan, where Lance Naik Albert Ekka had fought, was separated from Pakistan and Bangladesh was formed.
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AMT/ABM