Sgt Dip Prasad Pun from Bima village who is currently serving with 1 Royal Gurkha Rifles has been awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross for his bravery in Afghanistan (The United Kingdom’s second-highest award for bravery).

According to international news agencies Sergeant Dip Prasad Pun had displayed his bravery when he single-handedly fought off 12 Taliban
insurgents in Afghanistan. Sgt Pun is believed to have killed three and wounded several other enemies with the gun weighing well over 14 kg and hammering out 750 rounds a minute. “It would have taken a superhuman effort to hold the gun and fire it.

Apart from its weight, the recoil is colossal,” a British paper quoted a source as saying. Spotting a Taliban attack, he ran to the roof with a 7.62mm general purpose machine gun mounted on a tripod. As the insurgents came over the wall, Pun realised he could not lower the gun enough to hit them. So he yanked out the pins locking it down, chucking the heavy tripod at the enemy, and lifted it up. He also beat off the attackers with grenades and an SA80 rifle before reinforcements arrived. Sgt Pun’s platoon had been manning two checkpoints in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand Province in Afghanistan. On the evening of September 17, Sgt Pun was one of four men left in the southern compound. “I thought at first, maybe it was a cow,” Pun is quoted as saying. “But my suspicions soon built up, and I saw the Taliban digging to lay down an IED in front of our gate.” He saved the lives of his three comrades and prevented the position from being overrun. “At first I was a bit scared, and I thought definitely they are going to kill me. But as soon as I started firing, that feeling went away,” said Pun. “I am very lucky, but I am a survivor. My family are very happy, my father was an Indian Army Gurkha, so he understands.”