Head Constable Rai Singh of 159 BN CRPF made the supreme sacrifice on 18 October 2012 during a joint operation against Maoists in Bihar. Born on 15 July 1972 in Madhya Pradesh, he was part of the team operating in the Chakrabandha forest region, where CRPF units and state police had deployed strike teams to act on intelligence about Maoist activity.
As one of the 159 BN teams advanced towards Tarchuan village, Maoists launched an ambush by detonating a series of improvised explosive devices and opening intense fire. The explosion affected a mine-protected vehicle and four motorcycles. According to the official account, Rai Singh was travelling on one of the motorcycles and sustained severe injuries in the attack.
The attack hit the team at a critical point in its movement through the forest region. The troops faced the combined effects of the blasts and gunfire while trying to respond and secure the injured. Rai Singh’s injuries were among those sustained by the personnel caught in the ambush. The official account does not provide a separate description of a specific action by him during the exchange, so no such action is attributed to him here.
Rai Singh was posthumously awarded the Police Medal for Gallantry for his service and actions during the operation. His sacrifice is remembered with those of Sub-Inspector Ramjee Ram, Head Constable/Driver Lal Babu Sah and the other personnel who died as a result of the attack. The memorial record preserves his name as one of the CRPF personnel who did not return from the operation.
