President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday honoured 58 Defence and Paramilitary personnel with Gallantry awards, including sepoy Jagdish Chand with Kirti Chakra for his bravery in chasing and killing one of the terrorists who hit the Pathankot airbase before being martyred.
Chand was honoured with Kirti Chakra, the second highest peace-time decoration, for displaying great presence of mind, valour and conspicuous gallantry before making the supreme sacrifice.
His award was handed over by the President to his wife, who received a rapturous clapping from the audience which included Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, among others.
Col MN Rai of Gorkha Rifles was honoured with Shaurya Chakra (Posthumous) for unprecedented courage and valour, well beyond the call of duty, that he displayed during an encounter in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on January 27 last year.
His daughter, Alka Rai, who had left the nation emotionally devastated as she rose above her grief to shriek an old Gorkha war cry just before his cremation last year, stood up in attention as her mother received the award from the President.
Havildar Tanka Kumar limbu of the 21 Para, who had taken part in the operation on June 8, last year along the Indo-Myanmar border, was also given Shaurya Chakra.