• India
  • Mar 20

Prez awards Kirti and Shaurya Chakras

President Ram Nath Kovind on March 19 awarded two Kirti Chakras and an equal number of Shaurya Chakras posthumously to soldiers who laid down their lives in Jammu & Kashmir and the Northeast.

In a rare occurrence, he also awarded a Shaurya Chakra to 16-year-old Irfan Ramzan Sheikh, who thwarted a terror attack on his house in 2017.

The Kirti Chakras were awarded to Sowar Vijay Kumar of the Armoured Corps and Constable Pradip Kumar Panda of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The two died in separate operations in J&K.

Rifleman Jaiprakash Oraon and Sepoy Ajay Kumar were awarded Shaurya Chakras for their role in counter-terror operations in Manipur and J&K respectively.

Shaurya Chakras were also awarded to CRPF Deputy Commandant Kuldeep Singh Chahar, Major Pawan Kumar, Rifleman Rathva Lilesh Bhai, Naib Subedar Anil Kumar Dahiya, CRPF Assistant Commandant Zile Singh, Havildar Jaweed Ahmad Bhat, Havildar Kul Bahadur Thapa, Lieutenant Colonel Arjun Sharma, Captain Abhay Sharma, Major Imliakum Keitzar, Major Rohit Lingwal and Lieutenant Colonel Vikrant Prasher for displaying gallantry during Army operations in the Northeast and J&K.

Kirti Chakra is awarded for “conspicuous gallantry otherwise than in the face of the enemy”, while Shaurya Chakra is awarded for “gallantry otherwise in the face of the enemy”.

Kovind also awarded the Param Vishisht Seva Medal (PVSM) to 13 senior officers.

He presented the Uttam Yuddh Seva Medal (UYSM) to two Army officers, including Lieutenant General Anil Kumar Bhatt, currently the Director General of Military Operations.

Bhatt is also the general officer commanding (GoC) of Srinagar-based 15 corps, which takes care of anti-militancy operations in the Valley.

Twenty-six officers were awarded Ati Vishisht Seva Medal.

The PVSM is awarded to officers for “distinguished service of the most exceptional order”. The UYSM is awarded to officers for “distinguished service of an exceptional order during war/conflict/hostilities”, while AVSM is conferred to armed forces personnel for “distinguished service of an exceptional order”.

Shaurya Chakra for Sheikh

During the intervening night of October 16-17, 2017, militants cordoned off the house of Irfan Ramzan Sheikh. His father Mohammad Ramzan was an ex-sarpanch with affiliation to the PDP.

When Sheikh opened the door, he found three militants armed with rifles and grenades.

"Sensing that the militants could harm his family, he exhibited highest degree of courage and faced the militants for sometime so as to avoid their entry inside the house. In meantime, his father came out and the militants pounced on him, resulting in scuffle," the citation for the award read.

Sheikh pounced upon the militants for safeguarding the life of his father and other family members, it read.

The militants also resorted to indiscriminate firing, resulting in severe injury to Sheikh's father. He later succumbed.

However, Sheikh did not lose courage and continued to engage in scuffle with one of the militants, who resorted to indiscriminate firing resulting in severe injuries to the militant as well.

Currently studying in Class X, Sheikh aspires to become an IPS officer.

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