Meet Retired Havaldar Ram Ratan Mahto, a Kargil war super-hero who killed 29 Pakistani Soldiers during the 1999 War between India and Pakistan.
Mahato, who hails from the poverty-stricken Bhedikudar village of Simdega district in Jharkhand, is now working as a private security guard and recollects his courageous journey. EurAsian Times gets you an interesting story from the New Indian Express.
Ram Ratan Mahto says that even though his fundamental job as a driver was to shuttle soldiers to and from the war zone, he turned into a hero one night by demonstrating the excellent presence of mind, which repulsed a Pakistani attack and saved his unit from annihilation, reports the New Indian Express.
Recalling the 1999 Kargil war, the New Indian Express quoted Mahto saying – I was alone at the Motor Garage with a Light Machine Gun, during which he detected the enemy moving towards his unit around 12.30 at night. “I thought that if they succeeded in reaching the unit, they may create severe loss and destruction. I opened fire on them, emptying all three boxes of bullets. I managed to kill all 29 people in the troop,” he said.
After confirming the identity of the killed Pakistan soldiers, Mahto was hailed as a hero. “The senior officers lifted me on their shoulders and started dancing,” he added. Mahto said that even though he prevented enemy attacks 18 times during the Kargil War, he got injured in the 19th attack.
“On June 22, 1999, I was alone in the motor garage when I was wounded in an air raid. Splinters hit my left leg and tore my intestine. I somehow succeeded in reaching my truck, from where I drove for 3 km and reached the field ambulance, where they placed me in a bunker due to heavy shelling from the Pakistani side. After staying there for the entire night, I was eventually air-lifted to Srinagar,” he said.
“When I gained consciousness, PM Vajpayee and the then Army Chief VP Malik were standing next to me,” said Mahato. After the recovery, Mahto was again posted in Kargil upon his request.
Originally Published By The New Indian Express
