Lance Naik (L/Nk) Mohan Nath Goswami was born in Lalkuan in Nainital District in Uttarakhand. His father had served in the Assam Rifles. Mohan volunteered to serve in the Parachute Regiment in 2002. He joined the elite 9 Para, the Special Forces (SF) unit of the army trained specifically for quick engagements in mountain areas.
He gained reputation as one of the toughest soldiers. In August 2015, he was posted in Kashmir as part of counter-terrorism operations. On 23 August, he participated in the operation in Khurmur region of Handwara in which three Lashkar-e Taiba operatives were killed.
Of the five Pakistani militants infiltrating in the Uri sector, one was shot by 35 Rashtriya Rifles while the remaining four hid in a mountain cave. A squad of 12 under Major Anurag Kumar took off in a helicopter to hunt them. Another squad under Captain Mehra had taken off to hunt for three terrorists. In the fire fight, Capt. Mehra was hit. On Goswami’s suggestion, Major Kumar rushed to the site of Capt. Mehra to help him and Capt. Mehra was pulled to safety.
Major Kumar cordoned off the area of the cave where the militants hid. Three militants were shot and only one remained. It was decided to offer him a chance to surrender. The last Lashkar-e-Taiba militant, Sajjad Ahmad alias Abu Ubed Ullah hobbled out. Major Kumar was awarded Shaurya Chakra for leading this operation. Three militants were killed in this mission and one captured alive. Udhampur based Defence spokesman Colonel S D Goswami said “The apprehending of a terrorist has proved to be a shot in the arm to prove Pakistan’s complicity in abetting terrorism in J&K (Jammu and Kashmir).”
Kumar again volunteered for a mission on 2 September. There was intelligence report of a group of six militants infiltrating in the Sutalyar forest in Kupwara District in Jammu and Kashmir. This was one among the densest jungles of Kashmir with visibility of not more than three metres. The task of Goswami’s unit was to ambush the militants. The squad split into six teams of six men each. They deployed on two sides of a mountain stream. Four militants were detected and had to be challenged first in order to make sure that no civilian labourer or own comrade was killed. Goswami offered to challenge them. In the ensuing gun fight one terrorist was shot but not killed. The gunfight continued for some minutes but ceased when it started to drizzle. The terrorists had fired from a grenade launcher. Two commandos were wounded and Goswami and his buddy Havaldar Mahendra Singh rushed to their help. The terrorists opened fire cutting down Goswami and Singh. A bullet tore through Singh’s abdomen while two bullets tore through Goswami’s waist. As he fell, he kept his weapon pointed towards the advancing militants and killed the two of them. With cover fire from Major Kumar, Goswami crawled towards the fallen figure of Mahendra Singh. He was secured and pulled to safety. Goswami breathed his last before he could be taken to a vehicle.
Next day, the unit held a Bada Khana. Through mourning, there was pride. He had passed away doing what he loved most – hunting terrorists. Officers and soldiers of the unit raised their glasses to Goswami, hailing him for his courage skill in battle. He is survived by his wife Bhawna and daughter Bhumika.
His mortal remains travelled by road to his village. Through tears, his mother, Radha Devi, appealed to the government to build a school or playground in his name. His wife decided not to build a bigger house that they had been planning. Goswami was cremated with full military honours in his native village. He was posthumously awarded Ashok Chakra which was received by his wife from President Pranab Mukherjee on 26 January 2016.