NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu has approved 78 gallantry awards, 13 of them posthumous, to personnel of the armed forces and Central Armed Police Forces on the eve of the 80th Independence Day.
These include nine Kirti Chakras, seven of them posthumous. The awards also include one Bar to Shaurya Chakra, 19 Shaurya Chakras, one of them posthumous, five Bars to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 36 Sena Medals, five of them posthumous, three Nao Sena Medals and five Vayu Sena Medals.
There is no Ashoka Chakra, the highest peacetime gallantry award, in this year’s list. All three Army Kirti Chakras have gone to the Parachute Regiment’s special forces. Lt Col Maneo Francis PF of 21 Para (Special Forces), who already holds a Shaurya Chakra, and Major Jitendra Rathee of 2 Para (Special Forces) have been decorated, while Havildar Gajendra Singh of 2 Para (Special Forces) has received the award posthumously.
The remaining six Kirti Chakras have gone to Central Armed Police Forces personnel, all posthumously. They are Head Constables Jagbir Singh and Bashir Ahmad, SG Constables Jaswant Singh, Balvinder Singh and Tariq Hussain, and STF Inspector Sunil Kumar.
Four of the five posthumous Sena Medals have gone to soldiers of a single unit, 19 Rashtriya Rifles (RR). They are Lance Havildar Palash Ghosh and Lance Naik Sujay Ghosh of the Parachute Regiment and Lance Naik Pritpal Singh and Sepoy Harminder Singh of the Sikh Light Infantry.
The fifth posthumous Sena Medal has gone to Subedar Perbhat Gaur of 9 Rashtriya Rifles. Lance Naik Narender Sindhu of the same unit is the lone posthumous Shaurya Chakra awardee.
Major Aditya Pratap Singh of the Rajputana Rifles, serving with 44 Assam Rifles, has been awarded a Bar to the Shaurya Chakra. He already holds the Shaurya Chakra and the Sena Medal.
The Navy’s awards include a Shaurya Chakra for Lt Cdr Shivam Kumar and Nao Sena Medals for Commanders Vineet Sharma and Yuvraj Kumar and Petty Officer C Avinash Annaso.
Squadron Leader Sudhir Kumar is the sole Air Force recipient of the Shaurya Chakra. Two Group Captains, Rahul Jagotta and Rahul Rawat, are among the five Vayu Sena Medal awardees. Furthermore, the President has also approved 89 Mention-in-Despatches, covering 75 Army, 10 Air Force and four Navy personnel.
Most Army citations relate to Operation Rakshak in Jammu and Kashmir and Operations Hifazat and Orchid in the Northeast, with others for Operation Snow Leopard in eastern Ladakh and Operation Meghdoot on the Siachen glacier.
Two Agniveers of 2 Mahar, Hariom and Krishan Kumar, have been named under Operation Hifazat. Army Dog Tyson of the Remount Veterinary Corps, attached to 2 Para (Special Forces), also figures in the Mention-in-Despatches list.