New Delhi, Aug 14 — As part of the 80th Independence Day celebrations, the Border Security Force (BSF) has honoured 67 personnel with gallantry and service medals for their exemplary courage, distinguished service and meritorious performance.
According to a BSF press statement issued on Friday, 20 personnel of the 94th Battalion have been awarded the Medal for Gallantry in recognition of their conspicuous bravery during a meticulously planned anti-Maoist operation conducted on the night of April 15 to 16, 2024, in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district.
The operation was jointly carried out by troops of the 94th Battalion BSF and the District Reserve Guard (DRG) of the Chhattisgarh Police in the areas of Binagunda and Kalpar, which are located in a highly Maoist-affected region.
The operation resulted in the elimination of 29 hard-core Maoist cadres and the recovery of a large cache of arms and ammunition, the BSF said.
The 20 personnel decorated with the Medal for Gallantry are Inspector Ramesh Chandra Choudhary; Sub-Inspector Alok Kumar (now Inspector); Head Constable/Radio Operator Kana Ram Yadav; and Constables Villayat Ali, Mohd Ali, Golam Ehsanuzzaman, Rajat Singh, Hasimuddin S K, Shrawan Meghwal, Prem Sagar, Prassanna Chettri, Sagar Ghosh, Sanapathi Atchhiya Naidu, Adesh Kumar, Bidyut Gain, Khilare Navanath Narayan, Anil Kumar Verma, Sandeep Kumar, Dinesh Khati and Siddharth.
Five awarded President's Medal for Distinguished Service
The BSF also announced the President's Medal for Distinguished Service (PSM) for five serving or retired senior personnel.
The awardees are Mangi Lal Garg, Inspector General (Retd); Charu Dhwaj Aggarwal, Inspector General; Ashok Kumar, Deputy Inspector General; Dhirendra Singh Sindhu, Deputy Inspector General; and Amarvir Yadav, Second-In-Command.
42 receive Medal for Meritorious Service
A total of 42 BSF personnel have also been awarded the Medal for Meritorious Service (MSM) for their distinguished contribution and service to the force.
The recipients include senior officers and personnel from various ranks, including Inspector Generals, Deputy Inspector Generals, Commandants, Deputy Commandants, Assistant Commandants, Inspectors, Sub-Inspectors and Head Constables.
Among the MSM awardees are Ashok Kumar, Lala Krishna Kumar Lal, Satyabrata Mukherjee, Hemantha Raju S L, Amitav Roy, Rajesh Kumar Giri, Pramendra Kumar, Pradeep Kumar Sharma, Amitabh Panwar, Balbir Singh, Manish Chandra, Mukund Kumar Jha, Neeraj Sharma, Pranay Kumar, Shivanand Yadav, Vijay Kumar Singh, Vipin Panthri, Yogesh Kumar, Sukumar Pattnaik and Jaibir Singh Poonia.
The list further includes Sanjay Kumar Gupta, Rajnendra Singh Rawat, Rajesh Kumar Agnihotri, Desh Raj Gautam, Anil Kumar Vats, Arvind Yadav, Joy Dev Acharya, Mukul Chandra Deka, Inspector Pappu Kumar Singh, Inspector Sudesh Chander, Inspector Kavali Achyutha Muni, Inspector K P Surendran, Inspector Richard Kispota, Inspector Ranjan Biswa Karmakar, Inspector Shaik Mustak Basha, Sub-Inspector Nemi Chand, Sub-Inspector Deepak Dayali, Sub-Inspector Prabir Kumar Singha, Head Constable Bua Ditta, Head Constable Mohan Lal, Head Constable Prem Kumar and Head Constable Babul Barman.