Independence Day: 10 CISF men get gallantry medals

New Delhi, August 14

Ten CISF personnel, including one posthumous, have been awarded the police medal for gallantry on the eve of the Independence Day for an encounter with terrorists in Jammu in 2022, two days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit.

The Union home ministry issued a statement on Wednesday identifying the personnel as Assistant Sub Inspector Shankar Prasad Patel (killed in action), head constables Pramod Patra, Surendra Kumar Baliyan and R Nitin and Constables Ankit Chauhan, Punit Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Amir Soren, Ram Naresh Gurjar and Waded Vithal Shantappa.

Two heavily armed terrorists had attacked a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel manned picket just before 4 am on April 22, 2022, near Chaddha camp in the Sunjawan area of Jammu.

The ‘fidayeen’ attackers sprayed a volley of bullets from their assault weapons and lobbed grenades at the picket when a shift change was taking place and CISF personnel onboard a bus had just reached the spot to relieve their colleagues standing guard overnight. As the bus reached the ‘Sunjawan naka’, the CISF said, terrorists again started firing at the bus and also used UBGL (under barrel grenade launcher).

Immediately, Patra and Rajesh Kumar got off the bus and positioned themselves for retaliation while the other personnel, under the supervision of Patel, took position in the bus and opened fire on the terrorists, the force said.

Fifty-eight-year-old Patel, hailing from the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, made the “supreme sacrifice” in the service of the nation, the CISF said.

Due to the valiant response by the CISF personnel, a major terrorist attack was not only averted but the terrorists were contained and eliminated, the force said in a statement.

Personnel of other security forces later killed the two terrorists. The attack had taken place two days ahead of Modi’s visit to Samba in the Jammu region of the Union Territory, his first post the Abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. — PTI