6 Army, 3 police personnel get Shaurya Chakra

NEW DELHI: India’s third-highest gallantry medal in peacetime,

Shaurya Chakra

, has been awarded to six Army and three police personnel for conspicuous bravery in counter-terror operations, while the two pilots of the Mi-17 V5 helicopter shot down by “friendly fire” after the Balakot air strikes have been given the Vayu Sena Medal for gallantry.


In this year’s Republic Day list of 409 gallantry and other decorations, four Shaurya Chakras have been awarded posthumously to Naib Subedar Sombir Singh from the Army and Challapilla Narasimha Rao, Kamal Kishore and Aman Kumar under the ministry of home affairs.

Squadron Leaders Ninad Anil Mandavgane and Siddharth Vashisht, who were awarded the Vayu Sena Medal posthumously, were flying the ill-fated Mi-17 helicopter for an operational task when it was shot down at Budgam by a SpyDer quick-reaction anti-aircraft missile fired by the air defence unit of the Srinagar airbase on February 27.

The four other IAF personnel killed in the accidental “blue on blue” incident, which took place during the time when Indian and Pakistani fighter jets were engaged in the aerial skirmish in the Nowshera sector along the Line of Control, have been awarded “mention-in-despatches”. They are Sergeants Vikrant Sahrawat and Vishal Kumar Pandey and Corporals Pankaj Kumar and Deepak Pandey.

Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, of course, was awarded the Vir Chakra on Independence Day last year for shooting down a much more advanced Pakistani F-16 before his MiG-21 was downed during the aerial skirmish on February 27.

Though the entire air defence network was on a hair-trigger alert to shoot down “any unauthorised aircraft” in the region, two senior IAF officers are now being court-martialled and four others face administrative action for the grave operational and supervisory lapses that led to the Mi-17 being shot down, as was earlier reported by TOI.

Among the Shaurya Chakras, Naib Subedar Sombir Singh (Jat Regiment/Rashtriya Rifles) laid down his life while leading an assault team during a fierce encounter in

Kulgam district

of J&K, which led to the elimination of three hardcore terrorists in February last year. “Naib Subedar Sombir himself killed an A++ category foreign terrorist in the close-quarter battle before succumbing to injuries,” said an official.

Lt-Col Jyoti Lama (

11 Gorkha Rifles

) and Major Konjengbam Bijendra Singh (Army Air Defence), in turn, killed two terrorists each in separate encounters in Manipur while they were posted in the Assam Rifles last year. “Lt-Col Jyoti Lama also created a vibrant intelligence network in Manipur, which led to 14 other hardcore terrorists being apprehended,” said the official.

While Naib Subedar Narender Singh (Para-Special Forces) and Sepoy Karmdeo Oraon (Bihar Regiment) have been given the Shaurya Chakras for gallantry while thwarting attacks and infiltration bids by terrorists along the Line of Control, Naik Naresh Kumar (J&K Light Infantry/Rashtriya Rifles) has got it for a counter-terror operation in the hinterland.

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