NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday approved gallantry awards for 93 armed forces and central armed police forces personnel, 11 of them posthumously.
Two Army personnel have been awarded the Kirti Chakra (one posthumously), the second highest gallantry award in peace time. Murmu also awarded 14 Shaurya Chakras (three of them posthumously), the third highest gallantry award in peace time.
The President also okayed a ‘Bar’ to Sena Medal meaning the person is getting the same award the second time. Another 66 Sena Medals, including seven posthumously; two Nao Sena Medal and eight Vayu Sena Medals have been awarded.
Murmu also approved 305 defence decorations to armed forces and other personnel. These include 30 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, five Uttam Yudh Seva Medals, 57 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, 10 Yudh Seva Medals, one Bar to Sena Medal (Devotion to Duty), 43 Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty); eight Nao Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty), 15 Vayu Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty), four Bar to Vishisht Seva Medals and 132 Vishisht Seva Medals. The category ‘Devotion to Duty’ is not a combat or gallantry award.
Among the Kirti Chakra awardees is Major Manjit from the Punjab Regiment. He saved the lives of three persons, including two children, who were in line of gunfire of a terrorist in April last year in Jammu and Kashmir’s Sopore. “Despite the heavy volume of fire directed towards him, Major Manjit started crawling towards the terrorist,” the citation read.
The other Kirti Chakra awardee is Naik Dilwar Khan from the Regiment of Artillery. In June last year, he tackled terrorists in the Lolab Valley of Kupwara in J&K. “A group of terrorists was closing in on an Army team. Naik Dilwar Khan, though under heavy volume of fire, lunged and grasped one of the terrorists, engaging him in hand-to-hand combat, while the other terrorist continued to fire indiscriminately from a distance,” his citation read. Khan lost his life in the encounter.
Among the recipients of Noa Sena Medals for Gallantry is Lt Commander Sourabh Malik, who led an operation to save hijacked Iranian vessel FV Omari in February last year during an anti-piracy operation in the Arabian Sea. “The operation led to the capture of seven armed pirates, rescue of 19 fishermen and recovery of arms, ammunition and other piracy enablers,” his citation read.
In the IAF, fighter pilot Flight Lieutenant Aman Singh Hans saved a MiG29 jet when he lost the cockpit display and his overhead canopy at an altitude of 28,000 feet in the dead of the night in March last year. He was exposed to minus 35 degrees Celsius temperature. “He faced dangers of decompression sickness, hypoxia and wind blast affecting eyes at that altitude and high speeds,” his citation read.
Had he not landed the jet and ejected, the plane could have flown on its own towards a catastrophic crash. It could have hit any installation, populated area or could have even gone across the border, besides posing a threat to civilian planes mid-air.