Indian Army Chief General MM Naravane on Friday handed over the remaining ₹ 5 lakh to 70-year-old Lance Havildar (Retd) Dil Bahadur Chhettri, who was decorated with India’s second highest gallantry award Maha Vir Chakra for his bravery during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. Rifleman Chhettri, born on August 21, 1950 in Nepal’s Matta Dang district and he joined the Indian Army on August 21, 1968. He was with the Indian Army’s Gorkha Rifles (Frontier Force), was known for his bravery and daring acts.
In the 1971 war against Pakistan, his Battalion was part of the advance towards Sylhet in Bangladesh. His Battalion was given the specific task of clearing a well-fortified Medium Machine Gun (MMG) enemy post at Atgram in Bengal. Rifleman Chhetri, with complete disregard to his personal safety, fought fearlessly, charged the bunker, killed eight enemy troops with his khukri (a type of machete) and captured the MMG post. For his gallantry and devotion to duty, he was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra. He had to quit the service over personal reasons even before reaching the requisite pensionable service. He was discharged from service on April 8, 1976. Since then, he has been leading a very modest life in a remote village in Nepal’s Banke district. His life, after quitting the service, was filled with misery as he has had no major source of income and has been surviving on his gallantry award allowance.
