12 get Shaurya Chakra, nine posthumously

New Delhi, January 25

As many as 12 Shaurya Chakra awards, the third highest peacetime gallantry honour in the country, were announced on the eve of Republic Day. Six of these are for Army personnel and six for those from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Five of the Army men have been awarded posthumously while four of the CRPF got it posthumously.

Army’s Shaurya Chakra awardees are Naib Subedar Sreejith M of the 17 Madras; Havildar Anil Kumar Tomar of the Rajput Regiment; Havildar Kashiray Bammanalli of the Corps of Engineers; Havildar Pinku Kumar of the Jat Regiment; Sepoy Maruprolu Jaswanth Kumar Reddy and Rifleman Rakesh Sharma of 5 Assam Rifles. The first five are for operations in Kashmir and are posthumous. The CRPF awardees are Dilip Malik, Anirudh Pratap Singh, Ajeet Singh, Vikas Kumar, Purnanand and Kuldeep Kumar Urawan (last four posthumously).

Besides, 84 Sena Medals have been awarded to the Army for gallantry. Two Vayu Sena Medal for Gallantry have also been awarded. The Ministry of Defence also announced 29 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, Olympic Gold medal winner Subedar Neeraj Chopra is on this list.

Also, the MoD has awarded all its senior-most military leaders who have been leading troops along the LAC. During 2021, there had been many tense moments in eastern Ladakh as well as in Arunachal Pradesh. Northern Command chief Lt Gen YK Joshi and the Eastern Command chief Lt Gen Manoj Pande are on the list of PVSM awardees.

Uttam Yudh Sewa Medal (UYSM) has been awarded to Lt Gen PGK Menon, who till a month ago, was the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps. Lt Gen Ravin Khosla, Commander of the Tezpur-based 4 Corps, and Lt Gen Johnson P Matthew, commanding the Dimapur-based 3 Corps, are also on the list. All of them were commanding troops along the LAC during 2021. Lt Gen DP Pandey, Commander of the Srinagar-based 15 Corps, has also got a UYSM. Focusing on eastern Ladakh and specifically “Operation Snow Leopard”, the MoD has awarded 13 personnel “Mention-in-Despatches”. The Indian Army received a total of 317 awards for gallantry and distinguished service of its personnel. —