Gyatso was on top <strong>of</strong> my list. Another interestingmember was Lt. V.S. Shekhawat, who rose tobecome the Chief <strong>of</strong> the Naval Staff. In the annals<strong>of</strong> mountaineering, Annapurna III expeditionwas the most dramatic. We were looted by thelocal Bhotias, two members – Sonam Gyatso<strong>and</strong> Captain Jungalwala – were taken hostage.Prime Minister Nehru asked for our immediatereturn. His Majesty, the King <strong>of</strong> Nepal sent troopsfrom nearby Jomsom to rescue us. Despite thesetbacks, we got the equipment back <strong>and</strong> gotour two colleagues released. Sonam <strong>and</strong> I, alongwith Sherpa Sona Girmi, in stormy weather,succeeded in reaching the summit. This ascentbrought India international prestige.Short <strong>of</strong> SummitIn 1962, I was the Deputy Leader <strong>of</strong> the SecondIndian Expedition to Mount Everest. In this, SonamGyatso <strong>and</strong> I, along with Hari Dang, had toab<strong>and</strong>on the peak, due to a strong blizzard, whenwe were only 100 meters short <strong>of</strong> the summit. Onour return, at nearly 28,300 feet, Sonam suddenlyslipped <strong>and</strong> was heading for a 10,000 feet. fall.Hari Dang was swept unaware. God gave mestrength to drive my ice-axe hard into the ice<strong>and</strong> that stopped their fall. In pitch dark, we saidour last prayers. After a few minutes, we startedcrawling on all fours; st<strong>and</strong>ing up was dangerous.At 10 p.m., we miraculously hit our last camp <strong>and</strong>spent the third night at a height <strong>of</strong> nearly 28,000feet. It remains till date, the highest survival in theworld. On return from Everest, Sonam <strong>and</strong> I weregiven a warm reception at I.B. Headquarters bySardar Balbir Singh <strong>and</strong> Shri R.N. Kao.The Naval Headquarters had now receivedrequests for my posting from various quarters.Pending finalisation, I was given the post <strong>of</strong> SOS(Staff Officer Spare) at Naval Headquarters. On20th October, 1962, China invaded India. Withina few days, I received an interesting <strong>of</strong>fer from theMinistry <strong>of</strong> Defence to become their Advisor onSnow-Clothing <strong>and</strong> Equipment. I always welcomea change. I immediately accepted the <strong>of</strong>fer <strong>and</strong>received orders to move to Kanpur to join theDefence Ministry’s snow-clothing department.For almost three days, the idea <strong>of</strong> moving toKanpur gripped me. I felt I should instead dosomething exciting which would give me thrill<strong>and</strong> adventure. An idea suddenly struck me. Whynot seek some exciting opening in the I.B.? Withsome difficulty, I found the telephone number<strong>of</strong> Sardar Balbir Singh <strong>and</strong> rang him up. “Sir, doyou remember me? I had led the Annapurna IIIteam in 1961 <strong>and</strong> was the deputy leader <strong>of</strong> thesecond Indian Expedition to Everest in 1962.You had called me for the I.B. reception. I havesomething urgent to discuss with you. Can I seeyou immediately?” Sardar Balbir Sigh was verywarm <strong>and</strong> positive. He invited me to meet himstraightaway in his <strong>of</strong>fice. Excited, I almost ranto his <strong>of</strong>fice. I told him about the forthcomingposting to Kanpur <strong>and</strong> my keenness to dosomething exciting in the I.B.I Was ElatedSardar Balbir Singh seemed equally excited. Hewas already planning to secure the services <strong>of</strong> aneminent mountaineer for a new mountaineeringforce sanctioned by the Government. He gotup from his chair <strong>and</strong> asked, “Kohli, can youh<strong>and</strong>le a rifle?” I promptly replied, “I think I can.I have done a weapons training course duringmy naval training.” Sardar Balbir Singh said,“We are starting a new force on the Chineseborder, which will be named ‘Frontier Rifles’.A number <strong>of</strong> battalions are being raised <strong>and</strong> ifyou agree, I could <strong>of</strong>fer you an assignment in theFrontier Rifles immediately.” I was elated <strong>and</strong>immediately gave my acceptance. Sardar BalbirSingh shook h<strong>and</strong>s with me <strong>and</strong> said, “You arein”. He immediately referred the matter to theNaval authorities <strong>and</strong> my posting to Kanpur wascancelled. Orders were issued deputing me tothis new force, whose name was subsequentlychanged to the Indo-Tibetan Border <strong>Police</strong>.New doors <strong>of</strong> adventure now suddenly openedto me. Besides ITB <strong>Police</strong>, Government had alsosanctioned three other special organisations– ARC, SSB <strong>and</strong> SFF. Since Shri Mullick wasin overall comm<strong>and</strong>, he started giving meexciting tasks concerning these organisations. S.Senapati, then Assistant Inspector General <strong>of</strong> theITB <strong>Police</strong>, would call me once or twice everymonth <strong>and</strong> give me some interesting mission onthe border. I enjoyed doing all such challengingassignments. Once I was asked to fly to Leh <strong>and</strong>62The Indian <strong>Police</strong> Journal, October - December, 2012, Special Issue
proceed to Dungti to supervise the induction <strong>of</strong>SFF Personnel. On another occasion, I was sentto Chakrata to give a motivational talk to the staff<strong>of</strong> Establishment 22.Trisuli And N<strong>and</strong>a Devi EastIn 1964, I was asked to lead an Indian Expeditionto Trisuli <strong>and</strong> N<strong>and</strong>a Devi East. At Trisuli, whenwe were poised to reach the virgin summit, amajor ice-tower under the pressure <strong>of</strong> heavysnowfall crashed down, triggering a 14 foot highice-avalanche, destroying our summit camp.Fortunately, I had ordered the withdrawal <strong>of</strong>the entire team a few hours earlier <strong>and</strong> a neartragedy was averted. Harish Rawat <strong>of</strong> the I.B.was a member <strong>of</strong> my team. He belonged to theillustrious family <strong>of</strong> ‘P<strong>and</strong>it Brothers’, who madehistory in mountaineering in the 19 th century.Rawat’s gr<strong>and</strong>-father, Rai Bahadur Kishan Singh,known as A.K. P<strong>and</strong>it, <strong>and</strong> his granfather’scousin, Mr. Nain Singh, were both in the Survey<strong>of</strong> India <strong>and</strong> could be considered as pioneers <strong>of</strong>mountaineering in India.Immediately after ab<strong>and</strong>oning Trisuli, weproceeded to N<strong>and</strong>a Devi East. On N<strong>and</strong>aDevi, three climbers <strong>and</strong> three sherpas fell morethan 3000 feet, but survived. Harish Rawatwas one <strong>of</strong> them. 1964, thus, proved to be abad year.Leader <strong>of</strong> Everest ExpeditionThe following year, I was chosen leader <strong>of</strong>the third Indian Expedition to Mount Everest. Ineeded six months to complete the preparations,four months on the actual expedition <strong>and</strong> twomonths to wind up <strong>and</strong> write a book on theexpedition. Immediately after the announcement,I went to meet Sardar Balbir Singh. Afterexpressing happiness at my selection, he said,“Kohli, your are only on deputation to us fromthe Navy. How can we give you one full year<strong>of</strong>f? Go <strong>and</strong> see Chatterjee.” Those days, SardarBalbir Singh was Joint Director-I cum InspectorGeneral, ITB <strong>Police</strong> <strong>and</strong> Shri Chatterjee wasSpecial Inspector General. Somewhat confused,I proceeded to the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> Shri B Chatterjeewho said, “Congratulations, Sardar Balbir Singhhas agreed to grant you one year <strong>of</strong>f, a specialcar with a driver <strong>and</strong> an <strong>of</strong>fice for organising theforthcoming Everest Expedition.” Sardar BalbirSingh had an interesting sense <strong>of</strong> humour.The Indian <strong>Police</strong> Journal, October - December, 2012, Special Issue 63
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The Indian Police JournalOctober -
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From the Director’s DeskNew Delhi
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23rd December, 1887: TheJourney beg
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Courtesy - National Archives of Ind
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The Logo released on the completion
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Helmsmen of the IB during thePre-In
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SHRI V.G. VAIDYA, IPS(MAR 1992 TO J
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“Sleeman sahib ki jai”“No Cri
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their life and their problems relat
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Settling down of criminal tribes wa
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perish. Between 1841 and 1848, anot
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In conclusion, I would like to reco
- Page 25 and 26: own race alone, had to be withdrawn
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- Page 29 and 30: epresented by Tilak and his followe
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- Page 35 and 36: came under the control of Indian mi
- Page 37 and 38: neutralised many efforts by inimica
- Page 39 and 40: e published by the Intelligence Bur
- Page 41 and 42: As DD (Security), IB, I had occasio
- Page 43 and 44: Chhomohlohri, all of them juxtapose
- Page 45 and 46: Dormers Building, ShimlaThe Dormers
- Page 47 and 48: eforms. Warren Commission, on the a
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- Page 53 and 54: one develop. The all pervasive cult
- Page 55 and 56: etween the states and the centre su
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- Page 61 and 62: depend substantially on the restrai
- Page 63 and 64: Of Pistols and Pigs andthe Old Tidd
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- Page 67 and 68: Through the Eyes of an IB OfficerSh
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- Page 71 and 72: My J&K ExperienceShri R.K. Kapoor,
- Page 73 and 74: there. We remained stranded there f
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- Page 89 and 90: stated that Prakash Singh, Assistan
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- Page 93 and 94: Police - Intelligence InterfaceShri
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- Page 117 and 118: 9North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Page 119 and 120: Shri Dave was posted back to the lB
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