260 ITBP men awarded Special Operation Medal for service during Eastern Ladakh standoff

Vijay Mohan

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 31

As many as 260 personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) have been awarded the Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal on National Unity Day-2021 for various special operations carried out by the force in Eastern Ladakh.

This is the highest number of Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medals awarded to any organisation on a single occasion.

The ITBP men guarded the borders in Ladakh in extreme conditions through its operation ‘Snow Leopard’ on the icy heights.  The force carried out a high level of strategic planning and efficient execution of ground operations with complete synergy and collaboration between all sister organisations, an ITBP spokesman said.

The awardees include Deepam Seth, then Inspector General, North West Frontier, ITBP, who was a member of the Indian delegation for the 10 rounds of Senior Highest Military Commander (SHMC) level talks. The extensive negotiations resulted in a breakthrough in February 2021, and the process of disengagement of troops from some of the forward locations has been initiated.

The special operations of ITBP spread over a year and involved execution of strategic planning and ground operations. Besides this, it also included timely and adequate supplies of logistics to the forward location for troops.

On Independence Day-2021, 20 ITBP personnel were awarded with the Police Medal for Gallantry for courage shown by them during deployment in Eastern Ladakh.

Raised in 1962 during India-China war, the ITBP guards 3,488 km of the Himalayan borders. The force is known for its mountaineering skills and high altitude deployments in difficult borders and its border out posts are located at altitudes upto 18,800 feet.

In 2019, the force was awarded 16 Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medals for its operation ‘Daredevils’ carried out by its mountaineers to search and rescue a mountaineering team from Nanda Devi East in Uttarakhand.

Notified by the MHA in 2018, the Union Home Minister’s Special Operation Medal is awarded for special operations having high significance for the security in the areas such as counter terrorism, border actions, arms control, prevention of narcotics smuggling and rescue operations on the recommendation of the committee under the Home Ministry.

Personnel of Central Armed Police Forces, Central Police Organisations, state police and other security agencies are eligible for award of this medal.