New Delhi: Six bravehearts of the central reserve police force (CRPF) were honored with four Kirti Chakra and two Shaurya Chakra for their exceptional valor during an investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday. They were honoured for their exceptional valor during operations in Aurangabad, Bihar, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, and Bijapur, Chhattisgarh.
Kirti Chakra Awardees
During the ceremony, four CRPF bravehearts were posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra for their valor in the fight against Maoists in Bijapur on April 3, 2021. On that day, a joint anti-Maoist operation was launched in the Silger Forest area, under Tarrem police station in Bijapur district, involving troops from 210 CoBRA, 241 Bn, and the Chhattisgarh Police. The operation took a grim turn when the Maoists ambushed the troops with indiscriminate gunfire and grenades.
The troops displayed exceptional courage, countering the initial attack with retaliation. They fought bravely for six hours, inflicting heavy casualties on the Maoists, who eventually fled the scene. In this fierce battle, 22 warriors, including seven from 210 CoBRA and one from 241 Bn, made the ultimate sacrifice. In recognition of their extraordinary bravery, four of these bravehearts—shaheed inspector Dilip Kumar Das, shaheed head constable Raj Kumar Yadav, shaheed constable Bablu Rabha, and shaheed constable Shambhu Roy—were posthumously awarded the Kirti Chakra on August 15, 2023.
President Droupadi Murmu, awarded the Kirti Chakra to the family members of these four brave hearts.
Kirti Chakra has also been conferred to sepoy Pawan Kumar of The Rashtriya Rifles, captain Anshuman Singh of The Punjab Regiment, havildar Abdul Majid of special forces, Digvijay Singh Rawat of Special Forces, major Deependra Vikram Basnet of The Sikh Regiment, Pawan Kumar Yadav of The Mahar Regiment.
Shaurya Chakra
On February 25, 2022, a special search and destroy operation was launched in the Chhakarbandha forest area under Madanpur police station in Aurangabad district, involving 205 CoBRA, 47 Bn CRPF, and Bihar Police. As the troops approached their target, Maoists opened fire. Bibhor Kumar Singh, assistant commandant led a flanking attack, causing the Maoists to retreat. Despite being gravely injured by an IED and losing his left foot, he continued to lead his troops, securing a dominant position and recovering IED-making materials. For his exceptional bravery, Singh was awarded the Shaurya Chakra on August 15, 2023.
On December 19, 2021, a joint anti-terrorist operation involving Valley QAT, the Army, and JK Police was launched in the Darbagh area under Harwan police station. Acting on intelligence, a House Intervention Team (HIT) was formed to neutralize a terrorist hiding in a house. Constable Gamit Mukesh Kumar and his fellow trooper engaged the terrorist in hand-to-hand combat, forcing him out of the house. Amid gunfire, constable Kumar ultimately eliminates the terrorist. A significant cache of arms and ammunition was recovered. For his bravery, constable Gamit Mukesh Kumar was awarded the Shaurya Chakra on August 15, 2023.
Shaurya Chakra has also been conferred to constable Safiullah Qadri (posthumously) of Jammu & Kashmir police, Major Mustafa Vohra (posthumously) of 252 army aviation squadron, Rifleman Kulbhushan Manta (posthumously) of The Rashtriya Rifles, Havildar Vivek Singh Tomar (posthumously) of The Rajputana Rifles, rifleman Alok Rao (posthumously) of 18 Assam Rifles, captain MV Pranjal (posthumously) of The Rashtriya Rifles.
Constable Amit Raina, inspector Faroz Ahme Dar, constable Varun Singh, superintendent of police Mohan Lal from Jammu & Kashmir police, major Rajendra Prasad Jat, major Ravindra Singh Rawat, Naik Bhim Singh, major Vijay Verma, major Sachin Negi of The Rashtriya Rifles, major Maneo Francis PF of special forces, commander Shailash Singh, flying pilot, lieutenant Bimal Ranjan Behra, havildar Sanjay Kumar of The Assam Rifles, lieutenant Rishikesh Jayan Karuthedath (flying pilot) captain Akshat Upadhyay, jat regiment, naib subedar Baria Sanjay Kumar Bhamar Sinh of The Mahar Regiment, major Amandeep Jakhar of The Singh regiment, Parshotam Kumar, a member of the village defence committee of Rajouri in J&K have also been conferred with Shaurya Chakra.
