President Murmu approves 76 Gallantry awards including 4 Kirti Chakras, 11 Shaurya Chakras

New Delhi [India], August 15 (ANI): President Droupadi Murmu has approved 76 Gallantry awards to Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces personnel on the occasion of 77th Independence Day, an official release said.

These Gallantry awards include four Kirti Chakra (posthumous), 11 Shaurya Chakras, including five posthumous, two Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 52 Sena Medals (Gallantry), three Nao Sena Medal (Gallantry) and four Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry).

The President has also approved 30 Mention-in-Despatches to the Army, including to Army dog Madhu (Posthumous), and one to Air Force personnel for their significant contributions in different military operations.

The operations include Operation Rakshak, Operation Snow Leopard, Operation Casualty Evacuation, Operation Mount Chomo, Operation Pangsau Pass, Operation Meghdoot, Operation Orchid, Operation Kalisham Valley, Rescue Operation and Operation Evacuation.

The Kirti Chakra awardees who received it posthumously are Dilip Kumar Das, Raj Kumar Yadava, Bablu Rabha and Sambha Roy, all of the Central Reserve Police Force.

The Shaurya Chakra recipients include five personnel named for it posthumously, including Major Vikas Bhambhu and Major Mustafa Bohara of Army Aviation Squadron; Hav Vivek Singh Tomar of the Rajputana Rifles, Rifleman Kulbhushan Manta of the Rashtriya Rifles and Saifullah Qadri, SG constable, Jammu and Kashmir police.

Indian Army Majors Vikas Bhambhu and Mustafa Bohara awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously for flying away their crashing ALH Dhruv Rudra helicopter from a built up area and an ammunition point in Arunachal Pradesh in October, 2022 saving many precious lives.

The two pilots lost their lives in the crash despite having liberty to land in open area but this could have caused damage to ammunition point and civilians on ground.

Wing Commander ShreyTomar awarded Vayu Sena Medal Gallantry for safely landing his twin engine fighter aircraft safely on single engine due to fire and preventing both loss of life and property.

Havildar Vivek Singh Tomar awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously for saving the lives of fellow soldiers and preventing a major fire incident during deployment at the Siachen Glacier at an altitude of 18,300 feet. He observed a fire inside a snow tent in January this year and entered inside disregarding personal safety to contain the situation but laid down his life in the incident due to injuries.