Jawan who killed Hizbul militant to be awarded Shaurya Chakra
A list of 131 military and paramilitary personnel who have been recognised for their gallantry on the eve of Independence Day was released by the defence ministry on Tuesday.
Rifleman Aurangzeb, who was part of an Army squad that killed Hizbul Mujahideen militant Sameer Tiger in April, will be awarded India’s third highest peacetime gallantry award — Shaurya Chakra — on Independence Day, along with Major Aditya Kumar and the six-woman naval crew that made history by circumnavigating the globe.
Their names figure in a list of 131 military and paramilitary personnel who have been recognised for their gallantry on the eve of Independence Day. The defence ministry released the list on Tuesday.
Sepoy Vrahma Pal Singh tops the list of awardees, with a posthumous Kirti Chakra (the second-highest peacetime gallantry award) for his heroics in an operation that led to the killing of three militants in Pulwama last November.
Aurangzeb was abducted and killed by militants in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama district on June 15. His citation stated that he was awarded the medal for “indomitable spirit, camaraderie, conspicuous bravery and exceptional initiative under grave danger, leading to evacuation of injured soldier and subsequent neutralisation of three s.”
Major Kumar was at the centre of a controversy after three civilians were killed when his unit opened fire at a stone-pelting mob in Ganaupora village in Shopian on January 27. Kumar won the award for a counter-terror operation in Budgam in November 2017.
The 131 awards, approved by President Ram Nath Kovind, include a Kirti Chakra, 20 Shaurya Chakras, three Bar to Sena Medals (gallantry), 93 Senal medals (gallantry), 11 Nao Sena Medals (gallantry) and three Vayu Sena Medals (gallantry).
The naval awardees include Indian Navy’s sailing vessel Tarini skipper lieutenant commander Vartika Joshi and other crew members, commanders Pratibha Jamwal and P Swathi, and Lieutenants S Vijaya Devi, B Aishwarya and Payal Gupta. The Hindustan Times had reported on July 12 that the crew members had been recommended for Nao Sena Medal (gallantry). They had completed their voyage in 254 days.
CRPF head constable Mohammed Tafail and constable Sharief-ud-Din Ganaie have been posthumously awarded the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry (PPMG).
Both of them lost their lives while fighting three Jaish-e-Mohammed militants on December 30, 2017, when the CRPF’s Lethpora camp was attacked.
The Centre has announced the PPMG for only Ganie and Tafail. But 177 braves from central paramilitary forces and state police have been selected for the Police Medal for Gallantry (PMG).
Maximum 89 PMGs have been awarded to the largest paramilitary force, the CRPF, while 37 Jammu and Kashmir police personnel have been selected for the PMGs. Five CRPF personnel have received Shaura Chakras as well for thwarting a suicide attack in Sumbal,Bandipora.
A total of 942 police personnel have been selected for gallantry, meritorious and distinguished service medals. Among these, 88 personnel have been given President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Services and 675 others have been awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Services, a release from the home ministry stated.
