At 108, JK police to get max gallantry medals on R-Day

SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir Police have bagged the maximum number of gallantry honours with 108 medals on the occasion of the 71st Republic Day, followed by 76 by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), according to an official communication on Saturday.

The tally for the Union Territory police, thickly involved in counter-terrorist operations in the Kashmir valley, also includes three President’s Police Medal for Gallantry (PPMG), out of the total four of these top category decorations announced this time. These numbers have enabled the JK Police to win a lion’s share of 108 medals out of the total 290 gallantry awards declared on the eve of the Republic Day, as per the Union home ministry. It is one of the highest tally of gallantry medals won by a police force in recent times, a senior officer said.

OFFICER WHO LED OP AGAINST BURHAN WANI

The officer who led the operation that eliminated Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani will receive Police Medal for Gallantry from President Ram Nath Kovind on Republic Day. A 2008 batch IPS officer, Abdul Jabbar is among the 409 gallantry awardees.

On July 8, 2016, acting on an intelligence input, Jabbar, the then SSP of Anantnag, led a team of police personnel that killed Wani, who was the poster boy of militancy in Kashmir.

Other forces which have been decorated with the police bravery medal (PMG) include Central Reserve Police Force (75) the state police units of Jharkhand (33), Odisha (16), Delhi Police (12), Maharashtra (10), Chhattisgarh (8), Bihar (7), Punjab (4) and Manipur (2). Border Security Force (BSF) got nine PMG followed by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) 4, and one for the Railway Protection Force (RPF).

A total of 1,040 police medals were declared on the eve of Republic Day that includes 93 distinguished service medals and 657 meritorious service medals. These bravery awards are declared bi-annually on the eve of Republic Day and Independence Day.