Jyoti Prakash Nirala (English: Jyoti Prakash Nirala, born on November 15, 1986 in Rohtas district, Bihar; martyrdom on November 18, 2017, Jammu and Kashmir) was one of the Garud commanders of the Indian Air Force. Corporal Jyoti Prakash Nirala, who was martyred in Kashmir, was awarded the ‘Ashoka Chakra’ on the occasion of Republic Day on January 26, 2018. President Ramnath Kovind gave this honor posthumously to Jabanj Nirala, which was accepted by his wife and mother. Jyoti Prakash Nirala was involved in an operation against Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists on November 18, 2017. He had killed three terrorists in this. Jyoti Prakash Nirala was martyred in the firing during this encounter.
Jyoti Prakash Nirala was born on November 15, 1986 in a village named Badladih in Rohtas district, Bihar. Jyoti Prakash Nirala entered the Indian Air Force in the year 2005. Five years later, in 2010, he married Sushma. He has a four year old daughter. He was also responsible for the marriage of sisters Bindu Kumari, Shashi Kumari and Sunita Kumari, but he was martyred before that. Jyoti Prakash Nirala was associated with the Rashtriya Rifles as a Garud Commando of the IAF in the Army’s Countergency Force. Garud Commandos have been taking part in the ground operations of the Army since 2017. The decision to integrate a small contingent of Garud Commandos with the Army was taken after the attack on Pathankot airbase in January 2016.
Jyoti Prakash Nirala was posted with Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir under ‘Operation Rakshak’. In November 2017, information was received from intelligence that terrorists were hiding in a house in Chandergarh village of Bandipora. As soon as the information was received, an army contingent led by Nirala reached there. As soon as the army contingent reached there, the terrorists started firing, under the cover of which the terrorists wanted to escape from there; But Jyoti Prakash Nirala, showing indomitable courage, took himself so close to them that the possibility of the terrorists’ escape was eliminated.
While firing on the terrorists, Jyoti Prakash Nirala killed two terrorists and seriously injured two others. One of the two dreaded terrorists killed by Jyoti was Ubaid alias Osama, nephew of Lashkar commander Lakhvi and the other was Mahmood Bhai. In this firing, Commando Jyoti Prakash Nirala was also shot, but even after being injured, he continued to face the terrorists. In this action of the army, all the six terrorists hiding in the house were killed, but in this encounter, Commando Jyoti Prakash Nirala also martyred himself. Commando Jyoti Prakash Nirala’s wife Sushma and mother Malti Devi received the ‘Ashoka Chakra’ from President Ramnath Kovind during the 69th Republic Day celebrations at Rajpath. ‘Ashoka Chakra’ is the highest bravery award given in peace time.
Jyoti Prakash Nirala has joined three members of the Indian Air Force to receive the highest gallantry award. Nirala’s first flying officer, Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, was posthumously awarded the ‘Param Vir Chakra’ for displaying extraordinary courage in the 1971 war. Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma was also awarded the ‘Ashoka Chakra’ in 1984.
