NEW DELHI: Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma, who was killed during the 2008 Batla House encounter, has been awarded a gallantry medal posthumously, according to the list of police medals awardees announced on the eve of Independence Day. This is Sharma’s seventh gallantry medal. He is among the 35 Delhi Police personnel to be conferred with medals for their extraordinary services.
A total of 926 medals have been awarded to police personnel this year. 16 Delhi Police officials, including Sharma, will be awarded the medal for gallantry, three will be given President’s Medals for their distinguished service and 16 will be given medals for their meritorious service on the the occasion of Independence Day.
DCP Manishi Chandra, ACP Govind Sharma, Inspector Vinay Kumar, Sanjay Gupta, Rajesh Kumar, Late Inspector Mohan Chand Sharma (posthumously), Sub-Inspector Banay Singh and ASI Shiv Mangal Yadav are among those awarded the gallantry award. Rajesh Khurana, Special CP (Intelligence), ASI Mahesh Singh Yadav and ASI Bhupender Singh have been awarded President’s Police Medal for Distinguished service, while DCP Amit Roy, DCP Anil Kumar Lall, DCP Mohd Irshad Haider, ACP Nirmala Devi, Inspector Narender Kumar and others have been awarded the Police Medal for Meritorious Service.
Sharma, posted in Delhi Police’s Special Cell, had suffered three bullet injuries during the operation to capture suspected terrorists hiding in south Delhi’s Batla House on September 19, 2008. He later succumbed to the injuries in a hospital. There has been some controversy after with some political leaders and activists raising doubt over the genuineness of the encounter.
In 2013, a Delhi court ruled that the encounter was genuine and convicted the lone accused in the case, Shahzad Ahmad, for Sharma’s killing. In 2009, Sharma was posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra, country’s highest peacetime gallantry award. The citation for Sharma which mentions the act of bravery of an award winner has not been released so far. So, it is not clear if Sharma has been given the award for the encounter or any previous act of gallantry.
When asked about the gallantry award being presented almost thirteen years after his death, a senior police official posted in Delhi Police’s Special Cell said, “The government awarded him with Ashoka Chakra and many other awards for. Some things take time due to various reasons like court cases or other issues.”
Multilayered security arrangements for I-Day
Multilayered security arrangements and a mandatory adherence to social distancing norms are in place for the 74th Independence Day celebrations this year. A security ring, including NSG snipers, elite SWAT commandos and kite catchers, will be placed around the Red Fort from where PM Narendra Modi will address the nation. Over 300 cameras have been installed and their footage is being monitored round-the-clock. The security personnel will stand in adherence with social distancing.