Revision as of 20:28, 26 January 2018

2017: J&K police gets the highest number

J&K cops bag maximum number of gallantry awards , Jan 25, 2017: The Times of India

J&K police walked away with the highest number of police medals for gallantry in 2017, with its personnel bagging 32 of the total 100 awards announced.

While all state police together bagged 78 gallantry medals, 22 gallantry medals went to the central forces, of which CRPF alone accounted for 16. Interestingly, constables and head constables walked away with 55% of the gallantry medals, but the list featured just one IPS officer.

Ten gallantry awards were conferred posthumously , of which four went to Chattisgarh police, two to Jharkhand police and one each to Assam police, CRPF, BSF and SSB. As many as 777 police medals were announced, including 100 police gallantry medals, 597 police medals for meritorious service and 80 President's police medal for distinguished service.

Manipur cop P Sanjoy Singh has won a gallantry award for the eighth time in his career, for a commando operation undertaken in January 2015, that resulted in neutralisation of two insurgents. IPS officer from Assam, Sunil Kumar, is the only bureaucrat to be awarded a gallantry medal this year. He led an operation that led to killing of four NDFB cadres in Kokrajhar in 2014. J&K police officer Nazir Ahmad Kuchey , who has won twin gallantry medals this year. He was involved in killing a dreaded militant in Pulwama in 2014 and a 2015 encounter that resulted in neutralisation of two terrorists in Pulwama.

Of the 78 state cops honoured for gallantry , 32 belong to J&K, 12 to Andhra Pradesh, nine to Jharkhand and seven each to UP and Chhattisgarh.Of gallantry medals won by the Central forces, CRPF has 16, BSF five and one for SSB.

The stress on recognising the competence of lower level police officers is evident from the fact that 55% of the gallantry medals, 62.8% of police medals for meritorious service and 25% of President's police medals for distinguished service went to constables or head-constables.

2018

Bharti Jain, Forces in J&K bag lion’s share of police medals, January 25, 2018: The Times of India

Jammu & Kashmir police and CRPF personnel who jointly undertook successful counter-terror operations in the Valley state have bagged the lion’s share of 107 police medals for gallantry announced on Republic Day eve this year.

As many as 66 police officers were decorated for acts of gallantry in J&K theatre, including 38 from J&K police and 28 from CRPF. The past year alone saw a record 213 terrorists, including some top commanders, getting neutralised in intelligencebased, well-coordinated operations by the J&K Police, CRPF and Rashtriya Rifles. In addition, a total 59 terrorists were killed in 2017 while trying to infiltrate across LoC/ IB, up from 35 in 2016.

Other than in J&K, 35 police personnel got gallantry medals for counter-Left-Wing Extremism operations and three police personnel were honoured for brave acts in the north-eastern states. Chhattisgarh police personnel bagged 10 gallantry medals and those from Maharashtra police, seven. Six medals went to police personnel in Telangana, three each to Delhi, Meghalaya and Odisha and one each to BSF and Jharkhand police.

Seven gallantry medals were awarded posthumously. Of these six went to personnel from Chhattisgarh police who had valiantly fought Left-Wing Extremists at Pidmel, Chintagufa in Chhattisgarh in April 2015. As many as 35 Maoists were reportedly killed in the counter-attack. A gallantry medal was awarded posthumously to J&K police constable Rajinder Kumar.

Among other counter-operations that got J&K police and CRPF gallantry medals are the Awantipora encounter of March 2017 that killed two A++ category terrorists Aquib Ahmad Bhat of Hizbul Mujahideen and Abu Hamas alias Saifullah of Jaish e Mohammad. Six CRPF officers were decorated for the operation.