26 years on, war hero revisits Point 5140, relives Kargil memories
2
Lucknow: Twenty-six years after the
Kargil War
, Colonel Rajesh W Adhau, Sena Medal, retraced his steps to Point 5140, a towering peak at 16,800 feet in the rugged Kargil terrain. On July 7, 2025, he stood atop the same ground — famously known as Tiger Hill — where his comrade, Captain Vikram Batra, (Param Vir Chakra-posthumous), sacrificed his life on July 7, 1999, while capturing the strategic peak from enemy forces.
The climb, undertaken with the current commanding officer of 13 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles (JAK), Colonel Rajesh Bandhe, and a dozen soldiers, was an emotional one for Adhau. As the Regimental Medical Officer (RMO) of 13 JAK during the 1999 War, Adhau, with just one year of service, faced relentless challenges.
Tasked with keeping wounded soldiers alive under heavy shelling, he administered first aid to 97 soldiers.Tragically, 14 soldiers died in his care, nine from fatal headshots.His last conversation with Batra, on the evening of July 6, 1999, was a poignant memory — Batra had requested medicine for a headache, unaware of the fate awaiting him the next morning.
Reflecting on the trek, Adhau shared, "It was an emotional moment.
We fought against all odds to reclaim this land."
Upon reaching Point 5140, he called Vishal Batra, Vikram's brother, to share the significance of the moment. Currently, Adhau serves as the head of a Level 3 hospital in Congo under a UN peacekeeping mission. TNN
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