New Delhi (TIP)- India on Thursday, Aug 14, acknowledged the heroism of its soldiers who took part in Operation Sindoor and played a pivotal role in hitting terror and military targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir three months ago, with President Droupadi Murmu approving scores of wartime honours for them.
Among the 127 gallantry medals and 40 distinguished service awards cleared by the President on the eve of the 79th Independence Day are four Kirti Chakras, 15 Vir Chakras, 16 Shaurya Chakras, two bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 58 Sena Medals (Gallantry), six Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry), 26 Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry), seven Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medals, nine Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 24 Yudh Seva Medals, the defence ministry said.
Vir Chakra is India’s third-highest wartime honour, and has been awarded to soldiers who demonstrated uncommon valour during Operation Sindoor — India’s direct military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror strike.
The Vir Chakra awardees are Colonel Koshank Lamba, Lieutenant Colonel Sushil Bisht, Naib Subedar Satish Kumar, Rifleman Sunil Kumar, Group Captain Ranjeet Singh Sidhu, Group Captain Manish Arora, Group Captain Animesh Patni, Group Captain Kunal Kalra, Wing Commander Joy Chandra, Squadron Leader Sarthak Kumar, Squadron Leader Siddhant Singh, Squadron Leader Rizwan Malik, Flight Lieutenant Aarshveer Singh, BSF Sub Inspector Mohd Imteyaz (Posthumous) and Constable Deeapk Chingakham (Posthumous). All the Indian Air Force (IAF) Vir Chakra awardees are pilots. The defence ministry did not release the citations of the military awardees. The Kirti Chakras and Shaurya Chakras — India’s second and third-highest peacetime gallantry awards are not linked to Operation Sindoor.
The bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry) and Sena Medals (Gallantry) have been awarded for both Operation Sindoor and counter-terrorism operations, people aware of the matter said, asking not to be named. Two Agniveers have been awarded Sena Medal (Gallantry) for the first time. The Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry), Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry), Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medals, Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and Yudh Seva Medals have been awarded to soldiers for their role in Operation Sindoor, the people said. The Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal awardees include Northern Army commander Lieutenant General Pratik Sharma, director general military operations Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, IAF vice chief Air Marshal Narmdeshwar Tiwari, South Western Air Command chief Air Marshal Nagesh Kapoor, Western Air Command chief Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra, director general air operations Air Marshal AK Bharti and then Western Naval Command chief Vice Admiral Sanjay J Singh (retd).
The Kirti Chakra has been awarded to Captain Lalrinawwa Sailo, Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari, Lance Naik Meenatchi Sundaram A and Sepoy Janjal Pravin Prabhakar.The President also approved 290 Mention-in-Despatches.
India launched Operation Sindoor in the early hours of May 7 and struck terror and military installations in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the Pahalgam terror strike in which 26 people were killed. Between the launch of the operation in the early hours of May 7 and the ceasefire on May 10 evening, Indian forces bombed nine terror camps in Pakistan and PoK, killing at least 100 terrorists, and the Indian Air Force struck targets at 13 Pakistani airbases and military installations.
The nine terror camps hit by the Indian forces with a mix of missiles and smart munitions included Markaz Subhanallah in Bahawalpur, Markaz Taiba near Muridke, Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, Sawai Nala and Syed Na Bilal in Muzaffarabad, Gulpur and Abbas in Kotli, Barnala in Bhimber, and Sarjal.
The targets in Bahawalpur and Muridke were hit by the IAF; the rest by the army.
The air force also struck military targets in Rafiqui, Murid, Chaklala, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Chunian, Pasrur, Sialkot, Skardu, Sargodha, Jacobabad, Bholari and Malir Cantt in Karachi. In one of the counterstrikes on the night of May 7-8, Islamabad launched aerial attacks using drones and missiles at multiple towns and cities, including Awantipora, Srinagar, Jammu, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Adampur, Bathinda, Chandigarh, Pathankot, Phalodi, Suratgarh, Uttarlai, Nal and Bhuj. India’s air defence shield fended off the attacks. Source: HT
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