CRPF bags max gallantry awards; officer gets fifth medal

NEW DELHI: CRPF, the country's lead force for anti-Naxal operations, bagged the most number of 34 gallantry medals including four posthumous on the eve of 67th Independence Day today.

The list of the courageous men includes Deputy Commandant P R Mishra who has been decorated with a gallantry medal for the fifth time, the maximum for any officer in anti-Naxal operations.

Mishra, who has braved the Maoists bullet four times, has recently been taken on deputation by Jharkhand government.

He has been posted as the Addl. SP (Operations) in the Maoist stronghold of Chatra now. The officer, all through his career, has undertaken postings in troubled zones and was amongst the first commanders to have volunteered for the special counter-Maoist squad of the CRPF called Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) in 2009.

Mishra conducted a precision operation last year in July in Chatra district to eliminate a top Naxal leader and he was recommended yet again for the coveted medal for displaying "exemplary courage".

Another braveheart of the paramilitary, constable Mahadev Minj was awarded the Presidents Police medal for gallantry (posthumously) after he braved bullets in Chhattisgarh's Sukma last year in order to save a helicopter from firing by a strong Naxal squad which had surrounded the helipad.