Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Friday presented the prestigious Commendation Disc to Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari of the Border Security Force (BSF).
She was awarded for her exceptional courage and operational leadership during Operation Sindoor, India's military precision strike against Pakistan following the deadly Pahalgam terror attack.
Who is BSF officer Neha Bhandari?
Neha Bhandari, a third-generation officer from Uttarakhand, commands a BSF company deployed at the strategically sensitive Pargwal sector in Jammu and Kashmir's Akhnoor, which is located just meters from the International Border.
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During Operation Sindoor, under her command, BSF units neutralised three aggressive Pakistani posts, dismantling threats in real time despite operating from a position dangerously close to enemy lines.
Assistant Commandant Neha Bhandari led her troops to silence three forward hostile posts across the zero line (area closest to enemy territory) by giving a befitting reply.
Apart from Neha, six women constables held a gun position on a forward border post, with their 'josh' rising with every bullet they fired at enemy positions across the IB in Samba-R S Pura-Akhnoor sectors.
{{/usCountry}}Apart from Neha, six women constables held a gun position on a forward border post, with their 'josh' rising with every bullet they fired at enemy positions across the IB in Samba-R S Pura-Akhnoor sectors.
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"I feel proud to be manning a post along the International Border with my troops. It is approximately 150 meters away from the Pakistani post in the Akhnoor-Pargwal area," Neha told PTI news agency.
"It was an honour to serve at the forward post and give a befitting reply with all available weapons from my post to enemy posts," she added.
Neha's grandfather served in the Army, and her parents are from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), making her a third-generation officer in the family.
Officer Neha Bhadari's role during Operation Sindoor
Giving details of how she silenced three hostile posts, resorting to unprovoked firing on her position during Operation Sindoor, she said, "I had three posts falling in my area. I pinned down the people at all three hostile locations. We hit them with every weapon we had. They were forced to flee their posts."
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The posts were decimated to ensure they were silenced, she said, adding that her troops performed their best during retaliation.
Expressing the high morale among the troops manning the post, she said, "The 'josh' was quite high. Everyone among us gave their best, because everything we did was for the country and its honour."
(with PTI inputs)