British Gurkha Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar

British Army Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar, serving with 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles (1 RGR) was one of two soldiers shot and killed by a man wearing an Afghan Police uniform who had been at a meeting with them at a checkpoint in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on 30th October 2012. L-Cpl. Siddhanta was attached to 40 Commando Royal Marines.

28-year-old Lance Corporal Siddhanta was born in Pokhara, Nepal. He passed the arduous selection for the Brigade of Gurkhas in December 2004 and having completed his year-long infantry training joined 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles in October 2005.

Soon after his arrival in 1 RGR he deployed with the Battalion to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2005-2006 as part of the European Union Force in support of the Bosnian Government. He then moved with 1 RGR to Brunei where he conducted extensive jungle training and qualified as a sniper in 2007. This was his third deployment to Afghanistan.

Lieutenant Colonel David Robinson. Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurhka Rifles, said: "Siddhanta Kunwar was a great character and a tough, professional Gurkha soldier with a proven and impressive operational record. Strong and highly experienced, he stood out from the crowd not only as a highly capable sniper but also for his smile and sense of fun, whatever the situation he found himself in."

Lance Corporal Siddhanta's family said: "We are deeply shocked, disheartened and in disbelief that Siddhanta is no longer with us But we shall treasure all the good things he did. He enjoyed immensely of his profession and was fully committed towards it. He has made us proud. The whole family misses him dearly."

He leaves behind his mother, Krishna Maya Kunwar, his father, Shyam Kumar Kunwar, stepmother Chhali Devi Kunwar, his four sisters; Shova, Shyandya, Smita and Sardha Kunwar and his elder brother Bhupendra Kunwar.

The other soldier killed was Gurkha officer Lieutenant Edward Drummond-Baxter.