While they were sleeping...

On the morning of June 6, Bharathi called to wish her husband Subedar Raghupathi U.M. of the 21 Para (Special Forces) on their 14th anniversary. She noticed at once that he seemed very distracted and quite unlike his usual, gregarious self. What Bharathi didn’t know was that her husband’s focus was concentrated on what would become one of the Indian Army’s most celebrated strikes – the cross-border attack into militant camps deep inside Myanmar, one that has shaken India’s neighbours, who have become accustomed to a government that always played it by the book.

Raghupathi, who just about remembered to wish his wife on their anniversary, merely said that he was busy preparing for an ‘operation’ that he was about to set out on, which he couldn’t discuss. He also told her that he would not be available on the telephone for the next three to four days.

It was only after his safe return that Bharathi learned the shocking truth – her husband was part of the crack team of commandos who entered Myanmar and eliminated about 50 Northeast insurgents. While Raghupathi remained a faceless, nameless operative, the operation, which drew international attention transformed India from a country known more for its passive stance into one that would no longer stand for any challenges to its sovereignty.

Raghupathi, who hails from Mandekolu village of Sullia taluk in D.K. district, comes from a long line of fighters. Signing up to join the Maratha Regiment in 1991, he completed his Para Commando course and joined the elite 21 Para (SF) in 1996. His family lives in Sullia and his elder brother is a serving member of the CISF in Rajasthan. Both brothers were inspired by an uncle, who is serving in the Army.

“I am proud that I was part of this prestigious operation that killed the Northeast insurgents. We were successful in killing the terrorists who had killed our jawans in Manipur a few days ago. It was special as it was a cross-border operation. This strike has surely increased the morale of our armed forces,” Raghupathi told Deccan Chronicle.

Subedar Raghupathi was the squad commander during the operation, which was carried out by two teams. While one team had been pulled together from Manipur, the other team of 21 Para (SF) team with 57 commandos had gone in from Nagaland. “I was not hesitant or scared. This was not my first operation. I was part of several such operations including Operation Loktak. But this was really challenging as we had to walk for about 30 kms, cross the Indian border on foot and enter Myanmar without being noticed by the enemy,” he said. Within hours of the Chandel ambush, the army began gathering details of the enemy, with the commandos being put on alert for a possible attack on the militant’s camps. The daily gruelling drills that they normally endured were now stretched over about three days, Subedar Raghupathi said.

As the commandos, who included both ambush and attack teams, had to ensure the operation remained under wraps, they went through the motions of joining the Assam Rifles team that left to Teknyo village on the morning of June 6, ostensibly to a medical camp.

The real challenge began after the team left the medical camp and began marching towards the border with every commando now well aware that he had to cover about 30 kms on foot for the next two days. The commandos kept close to the Teknyo Sao rivulet to reach the target.

The journey was not easy as they carried a bag that weighed at least 30 kg and had to cover some 30 kms of unknown terrain that was mostly thick jungle, through the night of June 8 and into the early hours of June 9, with the estimated time of attack set for of 3.30 am.

The only food that the Special Ops team had was dry rations that would last for a maximum of three days. Apart from keeping themselves hidden from the militants, they had to thresh through dense forest, aware that any false move could attract not just enemy fire but wild animals and worst of all, leeches. Movement was severely restricted during the day, to avoid attracting attention. At night, the commandos moved through the darkness, crossing the forested hills and picking their way through the rivers with one eye on the time.

A chance Myanmarese insider was to prove their best informant. After trekking almost continuously for nearly 48 hours, once the commandos crossed into Myanmar, the soldiers finally closed in on the enemy camp. It was 2.30 am on June 9. The local villager explained the tricky terrain and showed them the safest route to the enemy camp. The enemy camp was situated 3 kms inside Myanmar border. Around 3.30 am on June 9, the commandos had the the enemy camp encircled, the 15 huts in their gunsights as they opened fire. The terrorists, sleeping inside the camp had no inkling that the Indian armed forces would launch an attack deep inside the Myanmar border, said the subedar.

The firing lasted for just about 15-20 minutes. “All the terrorists were killed and the huts destroyed by our Indian commandos,” he said. The team used the guns, rocket launchers and explosives that they had brought with them. Some of the militants who tried to
fire were killed before they could pull the trigger. “We caught them completely by surprise. Within minutes of laying waste to the camp, we retraced our steps and embarked on the nine-km trek back on foot. The most difficult 9 kms, really. As we had walked in water for several hours, our skin was damp and we had all sustained multiple abrasions along the way, along with the small wounds caused by leeches,” the subedar said.

“But yes, none of that seemed to matter. We had had the satisfaction of flushing out the militants who killed  our brothers in Manipur,” said Raghupathi. “We are proud of of having been part of the first permitted cross-border operation.”