Four CRPF jawans get out-of-turn promotion for bravery in Kashmir ops

The government has accorded out-of-turn promotions to four CRPF jawans for displaying extraordinary courage in thwarting 'fidayeen' attacks on the forces' camp in the Kashmir Valley in the recent past, the paramilitary today said.

The decision to promote the troops to the next higher rank in view of their gallant action, by an order of the Union home ministry, has come in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) after a gap of about 14 years as the government had discontinued the policy owing to some reasons.

The first batch of three jawans who have been accorded the promotion include Head Constable A S Krishana and Constables K Dinesh Raja and Prafulla Kumar.

The three, belonging to the 45th battalion of the force, were instrumental in thwarting a terror attack on their camp in Sumbal in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir on June 5 last year.

"Due to their alertness and subsequent raising of an alarm, not only the terrorist attack was foiled but all the four heavily armed militants were neutralised on the spot itself," the CRPF said in a statement.

With the latest order, Krishana will be promoted as an Assistant Sub-Inspector while his two other colleagues will be given the higher rank of head constable.

The fourth jawan, Constable Ghait Raghunath Ulhas was the alert sentry at the CRPF camp in Karan Nagar in Srinagar on February 11 when he spotted the movement of two armed militants and fired at them and denied them the opportunity to enter inside.

"The subsequent action by the security forces, that lasted for more than an hour, saw the neutralisation of both the militants," the force said.

Ulhas, of the 23rd battalion of the force, will now be promoted as a head constable.

The citation for the four personnel said they displayed courage of the highest order, presence of mind, alertness and unflinching determination and extraordinary valour.

The ranks will be accorded to the four men during a special event, a senior official said.

The CRPF, the country's largest paramilitary force, has deployed about 70 battalions (about 70,000 personnel) for counter-insurgency and security operations in Jammu and Kashmir, especially in the Kashmir Valley.