Singh shunned a corporate career and instead joined the
Officers Training Academy as a gentleman cadet. He was commissioned into the
Army Ordnance Corps, on 19 March 2011. As is the custom for all the non-fighting arms of the Indian Army, officers must complete an attachment of two years with an infantry battalion in a war or counter-insurgency theatre. For the duration of these two years, the officer, for all practical purposes, belongs to the said infantry battalion. Lieutenant Singh was attached to the 15
Maratha Light Infantry in Jammu & Kashmir in his first posting as a
commissioned officer.
Ambush On 20 August 2011, Singh planned and led the operation to kill or capture 17 armed terrorists in Gurez Sector of northern Kashmir. He set up an ambush for terrorists and ordered the team to not open the fire before he does. After waiting till terrorists were just meters away, he cornered the infiltrators before attack. He had positioned himself in least cover point and his team behind boulders, before attacking. He shot dead three terrorists when he was wounded in the head from about five meters' distance while trying to pull an injured soldier to safety. He nevertheless killed the fourth terrorist. He managed to pull his comrade-in-arms to safety and kept firing till death. The encounter lasted about 8 minutes in which 12 well-trained terrorists were killed. His body taken to 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar. == Ashok Chakra award citation ==