Guardsman Gopa Kumar R. served in the Indian Army with the Brigade of the Guards and was deployed with 12 Rashtriya Rifles in Jammu and Kashmir. His service number was 13691220. A memorial profile identifies his place of birth as Kollam, Kerala.
On 15 October 1995, he was serving as the scout of an impromptu patrol at village Sote, Tehsil Gandoh, in Doda District, Jammu and Kashmir. During the patrol, he noticed suspicious movement inside a house and alerted the other personnel. The patrol then cordoned off the location.
As Guardsman Gopa Kumar and two other soldiers approached the house, militants opened indiscriminate fire. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he charged towards the ground floor and shot one militant. When the militant attempted to throw a hand grenade at the patrol, Guardsman Gopa Kumar swiftly snatched it from his hand and threw it to a safer location, protecting the lives of his comrades.
During the engagement, a bullet struck his left eye and became embedded in his skull. Despite suffering a fatal wound and bleeding heavily, he continued to resist the militants, using precise fire and exceptional courage to prevent the remaining militants from escaping. His actions contributed to the elimination of three militants and the recovery of a large quantity of arms and ammunition.
Guardsman Gopa Kumar R. made the supreme sacrifice on 15 October 1995 during the encounter at village Sote. In recognition of his conspicuous gallantry, exceptional courage and devotion to duty, he was posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra.
His courage and sacrifice remain part of the history of the Brigade of the Guards and the Indian Army's counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir.