Army chief visits Param Vir Chakra awardee Bana Singh at hospital

New Delhi, Nov 13 (PTI) Army Chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi has visited 75-year-old Param Vir Chakra awardee, Honorary Captain Bana Singh, at a military hospital in Delhi to enquire about his wellbeing, sources said on Wednesday.

He was admitted to the Army Hospital (Research and Referral) or AHRR a few days ago and the Army chief came to visit him shortly after, a source said.

Singh, then a naib subedar, was tasked with capturing Quaid Post in Siachen, located on a massive ice-mass at an altitude of 21,153 feet, in June 1987.

He braved the terrain and the Pakistani soldiers and was later awarded India's highest gallantry award -- the Param Vir Chakra -- according to his citation on a defence ministry website.

The source said the Army chief visited him at AHRR and enquired about his health and wellbeing.

"Quaid Post was located on a massive ice mass located at an altitude of 21,153 feet above sea level. The steep ice-wall of Quaid Post gives it a very dominating position and to defend it one has to just take potshots at anyone trying to crawl up," according to the citation.

Naib Subedar Bana Singh volunteered to be a member of a task force constituted in June 1987.

"He was joined by four others in this endeavour. While other members of the battalion engaged the attention of the Pakistani soldiers, Naib Subedar Singh and his team slowly climbed and clawed their way up the steep wall of ice. The weather was extremely hostile and due to extreme cold the weapons of the support group were malfunctioning," the citation further says.

Singh was born to Amar Singh and Bholi Devi in Jammu's Kadyal village.

He was commissioned into the Indian Army in 1969 and enrolled in the 8 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry.

During Parakram Diwas on January 23 last year, 21 unnamed islands of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were named after 21 Param Vir Chakra awardees. One such island was named after Naib Subedar Bana Singh, the citation says. PTI KND SZM