16-yr-old from Kashmir gets Shaurya Chakra

New Delhi: In one of the rare occasions, President Ram Nath Kovind has awarded Shaurya Chakra to 16-year-old Irfan Ramzan Sheikh for fighting militants who attacked his residence in Shopian district of J&K. Shaurya Chakra is awarded to armed forces and para-military personnel.

During the intervening night of October 16-17 of 2017, militants cordoned off the house of Sheikh. His father Mohammad Ramzan was an ex-sarpanch with affiliations to the PDP. When Sheikh, the eldest son of Mohammad Ramzan, opened the door, he found three militants in the verandah of the house armed with rifles and grenades. Sensing the militants could harm his family, he exhibited highest degree of courage and faced the militants so as to avoid their entry inside the house. In meantime, his father came out and the militants pounced on him, resulting in scuffle; the citation for the award read.