On the occasion of Independence Day, police personnel from Jammu and Kashmir bagged 108 police medals for gallantry (PMG), the most among States and Union Territories of the total 347 gallantry awards.
The CRPF personnel bagged the maximum number of medals with 109 gallantry awards in serving regions like Jammu and Kashmir and Maoist-affected areas. As many 87 personnel and officers won President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service.
Various categories of service medals, including for gallant action, have been awarded to 1,082 police personnel from CAPFs and state forces, said the Ministry of Home Affairs in a statement said Sunday.
“Among the majority of the 347 Gallantry Awards, 204 personnel are being awarded for their gallant action in Jammu & Kashmir, 80 personnel for their gallant action in Left Wing Extremism affected areas, and 14 personnel for their gallant action in North-East Region.
Among the personnel receiving Gallantry Awards, 109 are from CRPF, 108 are from J&K Police, 19 are from BSF, 42 are from Maharashtra, 15 are from Chhattisgarh, and the remaining from the other States/UTs and CAPFs,” said MHA.
Among them, 347 have been awarded police medal for gallantry (PMG), 87 President’s police medal for distinguished service, and 648 given police medals for meritorious service.
Out of the 347 gallantry awards, 204 personnel are being awarded for their gallant action in Jammu and Kashmir, 80 for displaying bravery in Left Wing Extremism or Naxal violence-affected areas, and 14 personnel for showing bravery in North-East Region, the Union Home Ministry said. CRPF IGs Padmakar Santu Ranpise, Rajesh Kumar, CISF IG Hem Raj Gupta, SSB IGs Pankaj Kumar Darad, Pradeep Kumar Gupta, BSF IG Bhupendra Kumar Mehta, and DIGs Indraj Singh, Kamaljit Singh Banyal, Binay Kumar Jha were among the 87 persons won the President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service.
Intelligence Bureau’s Joint Directors Rajiv Ahir, Sunita Kakran and Balbir Singh also got the President’s Medal. Delhi Police’s Assistant Commissioners Pancham Chand and Shivaji Chauhan also won the prestigious President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has received the maximum gallantry medals at 109, followed by 108 to the J&K Police, 19 to the Border Security Force (BSF), and six each to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). Within the state police forces, 42 gallantry medals have been given to Maharashtra, 15 to Chhattisgarh for the anti-Maoist operations.
Ghulam Rasool Bhat, Jatinder Singh, Faiz Mohd, and Allah Din Khatana of the Jammu and Kashmir Police have been awarded the Police Medal for Gallantry for their counter-terrorism operation on March 23, 2021, in the Shopian district that saw protests from locals.
The terrorist was neutralized in an hours-long complex operation. During the operation, "a huge number of miscreants had gathered from nearby villages and started pelting stones on security forces followed by sloganeering against them," reads the citation.
"These teams displayed utmost tolerance and kept the miscreants at bay. In this process, a few men of the law & order team got minor injuries. After a thorough search, bodies of 04 terrorists of LeT outfit and their arms/ammunition were recovered from the site and the operation was called-off,” said the citation.
Twenty Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force personnel have been awarded various service medals, including for bravery, on the occasion of Independence Day.
The decorations include six police gallantry medals, three President's police medals for distinguished service, and 11 police medals for meritorious service, ITBP spokesperson Vivek Kumar Pandey said. Sashastra Seema Bal’s (SSB) personnel got 20 awards including six medals for President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service.
Those awarded the bravery medals include Assistant Commandants (ACs) Prabhat Mukul Martin Minz and Amit Kumar, Assistant Sub Inspector Kuldip Raj, Head Constable Hamesh Kumar and Constables Brahm Chandra and Shakti Kumar. They have been awarded for undertaking two separate operations against Naxals in Chhattisgarh, the spokesperson said.
Seventy BSF personnel have been conferred with Police Medals which includes19 Police Medals for Gallantry, 05President’s Police Medals for Distinguished Service, and 46Police Medals for Meritorious Service. “Constable Kishan Kumar Dubey of 119 Bn BSF made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty while defending an FDL in Distt - Kupwara (J&K) on July 9, 2015, during unprovoked firing by Pak troops. For meticulous operational planning, exemplary courage, and operational acumen, Ct Kishan Kumar Dubey has been awarded Police Medal for Gallantry (Posthumously).
“During the intervening night of 7/8th August 2016, troops of156 Battalion BSF while deployed in FDL Bhuriwala in Jammu Kashmir, noticed the movement of heavily armed militants trying to infiltrate into own side.
Party challenged the militants which further lead to an encounter in which SI MahendraYadav, HC Chandra Pal Singh, CT (Cook) BananSaha made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. Own party also neutralized one militant and recovered a huge quantity of Arms and Ammunition from the encounter site.
For the meticulous operational planning, exemplary combat audacity, operational acumen, and flawless conduct of operation, SI MahendraYadav, HC Chandra Pal Singh, CT (Cook) BananSaha have been awarded Police Medal for Gallantry (Posthumously) and Ct HarikeshMeena awarded with Police Medal for Gallantry,” said BSF quoting the citation