942 police personnel awardedgallantry and service medals
   Date :26-Jan-2025

942 police personnel 
 
NEW DELHI
 
 Jan 25 (PTI) ATOTALof942police, fireandcivildefence personnel have been awarded different categories of gallantry and service medals on the eve of the Republic Day, according to a Government statement issued on Saturday. These include 95 gallantry medals. The awardees include the personnel of police, fire,home guard and civildefenceandthoseworkingincorrectional services, the Union Home Ministry said. SEVEN J&K POLICE OFFICERS GET AWARD: SEVEN of the 15 Jammu and KashmirPolice officers,including former KashmirZoneinspector general of police Vijay Kumar, awarded gallantry medals on the eve of Republic Day, played a key role in averting a possible terror attack on the
 
Amarnath Yatra three years ago, officials said. TheMedal for Gallantry recipients also includedHumayunBhat,adeputy superintendent of police who was one of four officers to lay down their lives during an encounter with terrorists in south Kashmir’s Kokernag in September 2023. Bhat had been honoured withtheKirtiChakraforextraordinarybraveryon theeveoflast year’s Independence Day. In addition to the 15 gallantry medals, Anand Jain and Nitish Kumar -- two additional directorsgeneralofpolice-rankofficers --received the President’s MedalforDistinguishedService while 10 other officers were awarded the Medal for MeritoriousService.Duringhis tenurein Kashmir asinspector general of police, Kumar generated an input that a group of terroristswereplanning tocarry out an attack on the annual Amarnath Yatra in June 2022, the officials said on Saturday. On June 14, a small police party headed by Rakesh Balwal, the-thenSrinagarseniorsuperintendent of police, under Kumar’s supervision, stopped a vehicle atBemina on the outskirts of the city, leading to an encounter. The officials said twohardcore terrorists,including a Pakistani, were eliminatedduringtheoperationthatwas conducted without the assistance of the Army, the Central ReservePoliceForce,andintelligence agencies.