New Delhi: A total of 23 Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel will be awarded the Police Medal for Gallantry (PMG) on the 75th Independence Day. Of these, as many as 20 have been awarded for bravery displayed by the forces during the skirmishes at eastern Ladakh in May and June last year.
This is the highest number of gallantry medals ITBP has awarded its men for bravery in border face off/ skirmishes/ border guarding duties. Eight personnel have been awarded the PMG for gallant act, meticulous planning and tactical insightfulness besides defending the country in Galwan Nalla on June 15 last year. Six personnel have been awarded with PMG for gallant action during violent face off on May 18, 2020 in Finger IV area. Another six personnel have been awarded with PMG for their gallant action near Hot Springs in Ladakh on May 18, 2020. Three men have been awarded for displaying courage, grit and determination in Anti Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh. Below are the names of the awardees.
1 Rinku Thapa, 2nd In Command
2 Sarat Kumar Tripathi, Deputy Commandant
3 Arbind Kumar Mahato, Assistant Commandant
4 Nitin Kumar, Inspector
5 Patil Sachin Mohan, Sub Inspector
6 Manish Kumar, Head Constable
7 Manish Kumar, Constable
8 Kauppasamy M, Constable
9 Akshay Ahuja, Assistant Commandant
10 Dharmendra Kumar Vishwakarma, Assistant Commandant
11 Ravindra Maharana, Inspector
12 Shiv Shankar Tiwari, Head Constable
13 Stanzin Thinles, Constable
14 Vinod Kumar Sharma, Constable
15 Kishor Singh Bisht, Commandant
16 Pankaj Srivastava, Assistant Commandant
17 Ghanshyam Sahu, Inspector
18 Ashraf Ali, Constable
19 Mohd. Shafkat Mir, Constable
20 Rigzin Dawa, Constable
ANO (For anti-naxal operation took place in the month of July, 2018)
21 Ravinder Singh Punia, Assistant Commandant
22 Kuldeep Singh, Inspector
23 S Muthu Raja
The ITBP troops not only effectively used shields to protect themselves but also responded fiercely to the People's Liberation Army advancing troops and brought the situation under control during fierce face offs and skirmishes. Even when they fought the entire night, they received minimum casualties. At places, they gave determined standoff about 17 to 20 hours throughout the intervening night in extremely challenging conditions.
Besides these gallantry medals, 300 ITBP personnel have already been awarded the Director General’s commendation roll and insignias for bravery by SS Deswal, DG ITBP in Eastern Ladakh deployments of the ITBP in September, 2020.
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