Career
On 2 November 1996, Lieutenant Colonel Swarup Rana while serving with 13 Rashtriya Rifles was entrusted with the task of destroying two terrorist camps in the Hephrude forest of Kupwara District in Jammu & Kashmir. He spotted four well fortified hideouts stocked heavily with arms and ammunition including tonnes of explosives. In a gallant and swift strike, he destroyed these hideouts.
One more well concealed hideout came to his notice.
During the action that followed, the terrorists resorted to heavy firing from their well fortified bunker. Lieutenant Colonel Rana organised his troops, crawled towards the bunker and threw hand grenades inside.
Two foreign mercenaries came out firing heavily. He killed both of them instantaneously.
Meanwhile, the terrorists seriously injured Lieutenant Colonel Rana in heavy firing from another location.
In spite of this, the gallant officer kept on boosting the morale of his soldiers. When one more terrorist advanced towards the soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel Rana without caring for this own life, charged and killed him in a hand-to-hand encounter. In this action, this gallant officer sustained fatal bullet injuries and made the supreme sacrifice.
