CONSTABLE
Constable Ashok Kumar Nirala of 159 BN CRPF made the supreme sacrifice on 18 October 2012 during an operation against Maoists in Bihar. Born on 15 May 1969, he was serving in the battalion deployed to the Chakrabandha forest region. The operation brought together CRPF units, CoBRA personnel and state police after intelligence indicated the presence of Maoists in the area.
The strike teams were advancing towards their respective objectives when the team from 159 BN moving towards Tarchuan village was ambushed. Maoists detonated a series of improvised explosive devices and opened intense fire. The blast affected a mine-protected vehicle and four motorcycles, leaving several personnel severely injured.
Ashok Kumar Nirala was travelling on one of the motorcycles and sustained severe injuries in the attack, as documented in the official gallantry account. The troops had to respond to the attack while dealing with the consequences of the explosions and the danger posed by continuing gunfire. The published account does not record a separate individual action by Nirala during the ambush, and it would be inaccurate to assign him actions described for other personnel.
Constable Ashok Kumar Nirala was among the six CRPF personnel posthumously awarded the Police Medal for Gallantry for their actions during the operation. His name remains part of the Force’s record of the personnel who made the supreme sacrifice in the Chakrabandha ambush.
