Naik Dhananjay Kumar Singh, who lost his life while serving in the United Nations Peacekeeping force was honoured posthumously on Thursday for his service and supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.
Naik Dhananjay Kumar Singh, who served with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), was posthumously honoured with the prestigious Dag Hammarskjold medal. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador, Ruchira Kamboj, received the medal from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Naik Singh's valour and sacrifice were honoured during a solemn ceremony when the UN commemorated the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
He was among the 61 military, police and civilian peacekeepers honoured posthumously with the prestigious medal during the occasion.
Who was Dhananjay Kumar Singh?
Naik Singh was part of the Army Medical Corps, which deals with providing medical services to military personnel. Serving as a nursing assistant, Naik Singh was made part of the Indian Battalion-1 on 7 July 2023, The Print said in a report.
Naik Singh's responsibilities included vaccination of troops on the ground and their medical examination along with regular "medic" duties like combat medical care. In Congo, he served at a Level-1 hospital ensuring round-the-clock operability of critical care and medical support, the report added.
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What happened to Dhananjay Kumar Singh?
Naik Singh breathed his last on November 1, 2023, due to ischemic heart disease while on duty. Ischemic disease is caused by poor blood flow to your heart. It's usually a result of coronary artery disease.
Do you know?
India is the second largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN Peacekeeping. It currently deploys more than 6,000 military and police personnel to the UN operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, the Middle East, Somalia, South Sudan, and Western Sahara. According to news agency PTI, around 180 Indian peacekeepers have made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, the highest number from any troop-contributing country.
