Warriors Remembered
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WARRIORS REMEMBERED Vol 1 1939-1990 REMEMBERED WARRIORS ‘Warriors Remembered’, a compendium of four volumes, is an endeavour by the Force to compile the heroic deeds as well as the personal details of 2014 brave men and women of the Central Reserve Police Force who have made the supreme sacrifi ce in the line of duty, both in India and overseas. The previous compila- tion was published in 2000. Much has happened since then, and therefore, it was important that their brave deeds are immortalized before they fade from our memories. The Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had also called upon the police forces of the country to enlighten the people about the contribution that the brave men and women of these forces have made to the nation. With an enormous and a diverse history of 76 years (1939- 2015), preserving records has been a challenge owing in part to the nomadic nature of the Force. Therefore, a great deal of effort and WARRIORS perseverance has gone into painstakingly compiling the details of those who had laid down their lives in the line of duty. Memo- ries were rekindled and records revisited to ensure fi delity of the narratives as well as other details. While family members would REMEMBERED be given a copy to be preserved for posterity, readers would be 1939-1990 enlightened about the brave deeds of the personnel of the Central A homage to the brave men and women Reserve Police Force. from the Central Reserve Police Force who laid down their lives in the line of duty Vol 1 1939-1990 Vol 1 Smt. Padmini, Wife of Shaheed Constable Thankappan Mohan, ‘Vir Chakra’ receiving the honour from the Hon’ble President of India Shri R. Venkataraman Venue: Darbar Hall, Rashtrapati Bhawan Warriors Remembered Copyright © 2015 Central Reserve Police Force First Edition : 2015 Published by : Directorate General, CRPF New Delhi All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below: Inspector General (Operations) Central Reserve Police Force Email: [email protected] Price: R 3000/- Printed by : Viba Press Pvt. Ltd. C-66/3, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-II, New Delhi-110020 Tel.:011-41611300-301, Telefax: 26386500, Mobile: 9810049515 E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] ISBN: 978-81-931772-9-7 WARRIORS REMEMBERED Vol 1-1939-1990 iz/kku ea=h Prime Minister ujsUnz eksnh NARENDRA MODI MESSAGE There is no greater sacrifice than laying down one’s life to protect and preserve the unity and integrity of the nation and there is no greater hero than a martyr. They sacrifice their lives for a cause, a cause we all need to cherish and nurture. Commemorating and honouring our martyrs should not merely be an annual ritual, but also manifest in extending support and succour to the families they have left behind. Only then can it be said with conviction that we truly honour our martyrs. This is an integral part of our responsibility towards them. The Central Reserve Police Force, in its 76 years of existence, has contributed to the maintenance of peace and tranquility and has been a part of many historic events. It has been at the forefront in maintaining law and order, combating terrorism and providing security to vital installations and institutions. In discharging this onerous responsibility, the Force has lost a number of its brave men and women. I salute the brave martyrs and their families from the bottom of my heart and pray to the Almighty to grant peace to the departed souls, and assure the families unstinted support of the nation. As a matter of fact, it has been my earnest desire that the police forces of the country come out with a compilation of the brave deeds of their martyrs so that our young generation reads it and get inspired. I am happy to release the meticulously compiled compendium of the martyrs of the Force on this special occasion of the “Police Commemoration Day”. I wish the Force all the very best. New Delhi (Narendra Modi) 19 October 2015 Xk`g ea=h] Hkkjr ubZ fnYyh-110001 HOME MINISTER INDIA NEW DELHI -110001 jktukFk flag RAJNATH SINGH MESSAGE I am pleased to note that the CRPF which was raised on July 27, 1939 has been associated with many historical events in its 76 years of existence and 2014 men and women of the Force have made supreme sacrifices for the Naiton. I am delighted to know that in order to immortalise the heroics of the martyrs the CRPF is publishing a compendium reflecting their brave deeds accompanied with their personal details. I have no doubt that this would inspire our younger generations and they would be enthused to join the force. The staggering sacrifices made by the brave men and women of the Force are glorious indicators of their competence and versatility. On this momentous occasion, I pray the Lord Almighty to bless their families and bestow upon them the strength and courage to bear their absence. I assure the families of the brave warriors that the Nation stands by them and would always honour and cherish the sacrifice of our brave souls. I convey my best wishes to the entire personnel of the Force. (Rajnath Singh) FOREWORD While I sit at my desk to pen the Foreword for this exhaustive compendium of our brave men and women, I look back and ponder at the rich history and the yeoman service rendered by the Central Reserve Police Force in the evolution of India. Raised in 1939 as the Crown Representative’s Police, it has evolved into the strongest pillar of India’s internal security and the mainstay of Indian democracy. As the Commander of this largest para-military force of the country, I am more and more convinced that the Force has an envious versatility, which no other force can match. From countering the dacoit menace in the plains of Central and Northern India to guarding the Indo-Tibet borders in Ladakh and Indo-Pak borders in Gujarat, from battling insurgency in the treacherous terrains of the North-East to taking on militancy in the killing fields of Punjab, from tackling a proxy war in the beautiful but hostile climes of Jammu and Kashmir to taking on the Maoists in the hitherto uncharted territories of the Red Zone, the Force has vindicated its existence and acquitted itself creditably; notwithstanding, the innumerable deployments across the length and breadth of the country to restore and maintain law and order and secure and safeguard every citizen’s democratic rights. Though brave officers and men have achieved innumerable successes for the Force, their supreme sacrifices for the nation cannot be merely confined to history-the most striking being the martyrdom of 10 men at Hot Springs, in Aksai Chin, Ladakh on the Indo-Tibet border on 21 October 1959, when the Chinese Army launched a surprise attack on a small patrol of the Indo-Tibetan Border Force comprising CRPF men as well. In April 1965, a small unit of the Force at the Sardar Post in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat took on the might of a fully-equipped Pakistani Infantry Brigade and forced them to retreat, inflicting 34 enemy casualties. At the turn of the century, the nation was witness to another act of professionalism by its officers and men when on 13 December 2001, they defeated the malicious designs of fundamentalists, killing all the five fidayeen who tried to storm Parliament House. Ct Kamlesh Kumari made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty and died fighting the fidayeen. She was honoured with the coveted ‘Ashok Chakra’, the nation’s highest award for peacetime gallantry and the only one earned by the Force. Another attempt by fidayeen to storm the disputed structure at Ayodhya on 5 July 2005 and create communal disharmony was foiled by the gallant men of the Force yet again. The elimination of the famed Naxal leader Mallojula Koteswara Rao alias Kishanji on 24 November 2011 by the CRPF in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal virtually wiped out Naxalism in the state. The history of the Force is replete with many such striking stories of courage and valour. While the innumerable feats of the brave warriors brighten up the galleries of the Force, It has been this spirit of sacrifice that has helped preserve the unity and integrity of the nation and resolve many a critical internal security issue. In the 76 years of its existence, 2014 men and women have made supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, both overseas and in India. The Force has been decorated with 1 George Cross, 3 King’s PMGs, 1 Ashok Chakra, 1 Kirti Chakra, 1 Padam Shree, 1 Vir Chakra, 13 Shaurya Chakras, 239 PPMGs, 1 YSM, 5 SMs, 4 VSMs, 1129 PMGs, 3 Jeevan Raksha Padaks and 98 PM’s Life Saving Medals till date. This compendium is an attempt to immortalise the heroics of our martyrs, for generations of our officers, men and women, to read and be inspired, and a befitting homage to our brave warriors. PRAKASH MISHRA DIRECTOR GENERAL CRPF DECORATIONS The Ashoka Chakra is the peace time equivalent of the Param Vir Chakra and is awarded for the most conspicuous act of bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice other than in the face of an external enemy.