Three Armymen get Ashok Chakra posthumously

Col Vasanth, commanding officer of his battalion deployed in the Uri Sector, took personal command of an operation on July 31 and killed eight foreign terrorists before succumbing to grievous injures. Capt. Harshan R killed two hardcore terrorists in Lolab North Kashmir on March 20. He suffered a gunshot during the action and later succumbed to his injuries.

Subedar Chunni Lal from Bhaderwah J-K killed three terrorists on June 24 before laying down his life while countering an infiltration bid by terrorists in the Kupwara sector. He had earlier been awarded Vir Chakra for beating an attempted intrusion in Poonch in 1999.

The President has also approved six Kirti Chakra, the peacetime equivalent of Maha Vir Chakra. Naik Radhakrishnan C from 10 Madras Regiment, Dayanand Pandey from Faizabad, Mohd Shan Ahmed from Jhansi and Tarun Kumar Dutta from Guwahati have been awarded the Kirti Chkra posthumously. The other two Kirti Chakra winners are Capt Abhinav Handa of 9 Maratha Light Infantry and Lt. Pankaj Kumar of 7/11 Gorkha Rifles.

Among the 20 defence personnel awarded Shaurya Chakra, 19 belong to the Army and one is from the Air Force.