 |
| Enhanced with AI |
Major General Devender Pal Singh made the supreme sacrifice on 29 October 2004 when the Cheetah helicopter carrying him on a reconnaissance mission crashed near Mana Pass in Uttarakhand.
A Career of Military Service
Singh was commissioned into the 15 Jat Battalion of the Jat Regiment. Over a long military career, he served in different appointments and rose to the rank of Major General. In 2004, he was the General Officer Commanding of 6 Mountain Division, based at Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.
A Reconnaissance Mission to Forward Posts
On 29 October 2004, Singh undertook a reconnaissance mission to assess forward border posts under his division’s operational responsibility. The Army Aviation Corps assigned a Cheetah helicopter from 23 (Independent) Reconnaissance and Observation Flight for the task.
Lieutenant Colonel Pramod Keshav Pande piloted the aircraft, with Captain Arjun Sardana as co-pilot. The helicopter took off from Bareilly in the morning but later lost contact with air traffic control. Search parties eventually located the wreckage near Mana Pass in Chamoli district, close to the India-China border.
Major General Singh and both pilots made the supreme sacrifice in the crash.
Remembering His Service
As a divisional commander, Singh carried responsibility for the operational readiness and deployment of troops under his command. His final mission was part of the Army’s work to assess forward positions in a challenging high-altitude region.
Major General Devender Pal Singh is remembered for his long service in the Indian Army and the supreme sacrifice he made while performing his duties. His name remains linked to the two Army aviators who accompanied him on that final mission.
