All of us know that a soldier’s life is not easy to adopt and live. But some do, which is why they are called ‘Bravehearts.’
The men in uniform are respected and loved by everyone, be it a child or an elder. We are not talking of the aura around them that comes with the uniform that they wear, but it is the work that they do, on and off duty.
Let’s meet one such Soldier: Sunil Kumar, DIG, CRPF. He was born to Late Shri Rambriksha Prasad and Smt. Shanti Devi in the Bhagalpur district in Bihar. After graduation, he joined CRPF as Assistant Commandant in 1994.
The life of Sunil Kumar reflects the journey he has covered till now and his aspirations for his future career.
In his 29 years of illustrious service, he ensured the unity of the country through his able leadership and maintaining integrity with the best services dedicated to the country. Kumar’s is studded with countering terrorism, extremism, and Naxal-affected provinces like Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Orissa, Bihar, Nagaland, Tripura, and Gujarat. He has also served in Chhattisgarh’s extremely remote, difficult, and disturbed areas.
Initially, Kumar served in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, including highly sensitive parts of the region like Srinagar, Badgam and Doda. As a commanding officer, he successfully led anti-terrorism operations and maintained peace in the area.
During the devastating earthquake in Gujarat in 2001, Kumar served as the Deputy Commandant. He and his team risked their lives, rescuing 74 civilians trapped in the debris of the earthquake. Kumar and his team quelled the violent riots that broke out after the Godhra incident in 2002.
While in the RAF, he and his team played an important role in restoring law and order in Surat within 48 hours, which was praised by the current Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi (then Chief Minister of Gujarat).
As a Commandant, Kumar successfully campaigned against Naxalites in the highly Naxal-affected and sensitive areas like Dantewada, Sukma, and Bijapur of Chhattisgarh, and was successful in maintaining peace and order. Commendable efforts were made to bring the misguided youth of far-flung regions into the nation’s mainstream. The lost glory of ancient and historical heritage located in Barsoor of South Bastar was re-established with the help of the local administration and the public. The Battisa temple organised the first Barsoor Mahotsav with his sincere and continuous efforts. Barsoor came up on the tourist map for the first time in January 2012.
Sunil Kumar was assigned to Command 06 Battalion, CRPF, deployed for comprehensive security duty of the Shrine, Katra, and pilgrims visiting for Darshan of Mata Vaishno Devi. Kumar with his team thwarted anti-national forces from their nefarious designs with his operational acumen and leadership qualities. He never allowed the anti-India forces to succeed. Under his devoted leadership, the pilgrims from different parts of the country and abroad were ensured safety.
Kumar is still in touch with Maa Vaishno Devi Seva Samiti Patna and offers social services. He is associated with an organisation that operates a non-commercial blood centre named “Maa Blood Centre” near Bramhasthan Temple under Pirbahor Police Station. It provides blood free of cost to the poor and needy people suffering from serious diseases like Thalassemia, Haemophilia, and Aplastic Anaemia. This institution also organises weddings of 51 men and women from the economically weaker sections of society every year.
During his command of 87 Battalion, deployed in the highly insurgency-infested areas of Manipur, the Economic Blockade was handled effectively with the help of the State Government bringing normalcy to the State.
As Nodal Officer in the Manipur Assembly and Lok Sabha Elections, he played an important role in ensuring free, fair, and peaceful elections successfully without any untoward incidents.
Kumar understands the importance of all round development of troops. Hence, he organised counselling sessions in 13 institutes/units of CRPF located in 10 districts of Uttar Pradesh in collaboration with Dr Gaurav Saxena, International Counsellor. The counselling sessions benefited 8,688 officers/jawans of CRPF and their family members. The initiative taken by Kumar was well recognised at the international level. The initiative set five World Records in the name of CRPF. For his initiative, Kumar was awarded the “World Record Appreciation Certificate.”
Sunil Kumar has been decorated with 122 Commendation/Appreciation Certificates, Discs, and best entries by the higher authorities of the Force as well as the State and Central Governments for praiseworthy work.