On the 77th Republic Day, 33 Delhi Police officers will be honored with medals, including 14 gallantry awards and two President's Medals for Distinguished Service. The Special Cell secured most of the gallantry medals for high-risk operations in the capital in recent years. Meanwhile, a senior CBI officer has been selected for the President's Police Medal for leading the RG Kar case probe.
On the occasion of the 77th Republic Day, 33 Delhi Police officers will be conferred with medals, including 14 gallantry medals—13 of which go to the Special Cell for their roles in four high-risk counter-terror and anti-extremism operations in the capital in recent years.
Among the gallantry awardees are Additional CP Pramod Singh Kushwah, SI Rajeev Kumar, and SI Shibu R S, who intercepted A++ category Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Javed Ahmed Mattu alias Irshad Ahmed Malla near the DND Toll Plaza in Mayur Vihar. Mattu, carrying a Rs 10 lakh reward and wanted in 11 terror cases in Jammu and Kashmir, opened fire on the police team. One bullet struck an officer but was stopped by his bulletproof vest. The team overpowered the terrorist, preventing a major strike.
Inspector Manoj Kumar, along with SI Anshu Chaudhary and HC Aleem Ahmad, engaged ISIS-linked terrorist Rizwan Ali—wanted by the NIA with a Rs 3 lakh reward—near Tughlakabad village. Rizwan fired, with bullets impacting officers' protective gear. The operation neutralized a module assembling IEDs and reconnoitering sensitive targets across states.
Inspector Amit Nara, SI Brajpal Singh, SI Satish Kumar, and SI Udham Singh received awards for intercepting two armed operatives linked to Canada-based terrorist Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dalla of the Khalistan Tiger Force near Mayur Vihar. An exchange of fire ensued, with two officers hit but saved by vests, foiling plans to extend Khalistani violence to Delhi.
Inspector Nishant Dahiya, Inspector Manjit Jaglan, and SI Amit Bhati confronted armed criminals from the Khalistani network near Sarai Kale Khan ISBT on Ring Road. One criminal attempted to deploy a high-explosive grenade but was overpowered, averting a blast.
The President’s Medal for Distinguished Service goes to retired SI Gainendra Singh Rana and SI Naval Kumari, while 17 officers will receive Meritorious Service Medals.
Separately, CBI Joint Director V Chandrasekhar, a 2000-batch Gujarat cadre IPS officer, has been selected for the President’s Police Medal for supervising the probe into the rape and murder at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College. The case, transferred to CBI amid public outrage, led to the conviction of main accused Sanjay Rai under his oversight. It sparked widespread protests in West Bengal. In total, 31 CBI officers are among the awardees.