E-Paper
President confers Gallantry awards to armed forces, police personnel
The President conferred 10 Kirti Chakras, seven of which were presented posthumously to the personnel of the army and paramilitary forces for displaying indomitable courage and extraordinary valour in the line of duty
New Delhi: President Draupadi Murmu conferred gallantry awards, including the Kirti Chakras and Shaurya Chakras to the personnel of the armed forces, the Central Armed Police Forces (CRPF), and state/Union Territory police during a Defence Investiture Ceremony (Phase-I) held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday.
The President conferred 10 Kirti Chakras, seven of which were presented posthumously to the personnel of the army and paramilitary forces for displaying indomitable courage and extraordinary valour in the line of duty. Of the 26 Shaurya Chakras presented by the President, seven were awarded posthumously.
Inspector Dilip Kumar, head constable Raj Kumar Yadava, constable Bablu Rabha and Sambhu Roy of the 210 CoBRA Battalion, CRPF, were posthumously presented the Kirti Chakra for a collective act against the Maoists’ ambush in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur on April 3, 2021.
Three others – major Digvijay Singh Rawat, major Deependra Vikram, and naib subedar Pawan Kumar Yadav – were conferred non-posthumously.
Major Vikas Bhambhu and major Mustafa Bohara were posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra. The two officers had steered their chopper had caught fire, away from human habitation and were killed after crash landing in Arunachal Pradesh’s Upper Siang district.
Captain MV Pranjal was also posthumously awarded.
Non-posthumous awardees included five personnel of the Jammu and Kashmir police, one CRPF officer, nine army officers, two air force officers, one navy officer and a civilian.
The awards were given to the personnel for displaying conspicuous gallantry, indomitable courage and extreme devotion to duty.
Kirti Chakra is the second-highest peacetime gallantry award in India. It was instituted in 1952 and redesigned in 1967. It is awarded to military and civilian personnel for conspicuous gallantry. The Shaurya Chakra is third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards. It is awarded for gallantry otherwise in the face of the enemy.
