Six Army personnel were awarded Shaurya Chakra, the third highest peacetime gallantry medal on the occasion of Independence Day. All the six, including one posthumously, were named for the award for their bravery in anti-terrorist operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
The recipients are Major Arun Kumar Pandey, Major Ravi Kumar Chaudhary, Captain Ashutosh Kumar (posthumously), Captain Vikas Khatri, Rifleman Mukesh Kumar and Sepoy Neeraj Ahlawat.
Four Army personnel were conferred the Bar to Sena medal while 116 others were named for the Sena medal on the eve of Independence Day.
Brief narration of the acts of bravery by the Shaurya Chakra awardees are as follows:
Pandey(44th battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles) led an anti-terror operation in a village in Jammu and Kashmir on June 9 and 10 last year and showed “unparalleled courage” while neutralising two hardcore terrorists.
Chaudhary (55th battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles) “exhibited exceptional resoluteness” and fortitude in leading four successful operations by his unit resulting in the elimination of 13 terrorists, the Army said. An operation led by him on June 3 last year was specifically mentioned in his citation.
Captain Kumar (Madras Regiment) has been conferred the Shaurya Chakra award posthumously for displaying “indomitable courage” and professional acumen of “highest order” in saving the life of one of his fellow soldier and eliminating a hardcore terrorist in an operation on November 8 last year.
Captain Vikas Khatri( 16th battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles) was deployed as part of a special task of “area domination patrol” in Jammu and Kashmir under the challenging terrain at the height of 12,000 feet on the nights of December 12 and 13 last year. He eliminated one foreign terrorist despite heavy retaliation, showing raw courage and bravery.
Rifleman Mukesh Kumar(ninth battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles) physically wrestled with a terrorist, who was shocked by the ferocity of the assault in spite of sustaining a “gunshot wound” and neutralised the terrorist from point-blank range ensuring no injuries to own troops or the civilians, the Army said.
Sepoy Ahlawat has been conferred the Shaurya Chakra award for showing “exceptional gallantry beyond the call of duty and nerves of steel” during an anti-terror operation in Jammu and Kashmir on June 20 last year, the Army said. One Pakistani terrorist was eliminated in the operation, it said.
The Commanding Officer of a Su-30 MKI Squadron since January 2020, Group Captain Perminder Antil of the IAF, was awarded the Shaurya Chakra for his superior piloting skills ensuring safety of a national asset worth hundreds of crores and precluded possible damage to life and property on ground in case of an ejection from his aircraft on September 21 last year due to black-out conditions.
