Vasanth Venugopal

Who is Vasanth Venugopal?

Col Vasanth V, AC was the Commanding Officer of 9 Maratha Light Infantry, a unit of the Indian Army. On 31 July 2007, he was killed in action while preventing heavily armed infiltrators from crossing the Indian border at Uri, Jammu and Kashmir.

Col Vasanth was awarded the Ashoka Chakra, the peacetime equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military decoration for gallantry. The Ashoka Chakra is awarded for the "most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent valour or self-sacrifice" other than in the face of the enemy. Col Vasanth is the first person from the state of Karnataka, India to receive this honour.