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Lieutenant Colonel Ajit Bhandarkar was commissioned in the MADRAS Regiment on 19 December 1981, and posted to Rashtriya Rifles on 7 November 1998, He was second -in-command of the Battalion and led an operation in (Surankot).
On 30th October 1999, a Cordon and search operation was launched to eliminate hardcore militants hiding in the village. Lt. Col. Bhandarakar spotted the militants escaping towards Nallah. Showing exemplary courage, the officer chased the militants escaping towards nallah and shot dead one militant at point blank range. The second militant hiding inside the nallah fired indiscriminately, injuring the officer grievously. Despite being injured badly the officer moved ahead and lobbed a grenade on the militant, shot him down. This action of the officer saved the lives of other personnel. The slain militants have been identified as Amir Shaizad, Ashraf and Zaman, all foreign militants. The officer’s daring action, thus resulted in the elimination of three hardcore militants. For showing exemplary leadership and raw courage Lt. Colonel Ajit Bhanderkar was awarded SHAURYA CHAKRA (Posthumously).