JOIN USAs the middle-aged Archana walked up to the dais to collect a Sena Medal on behalf of her husband, the citation: “With exceptional flying skills and utter disregard to his safety, he manoeuvred the helicopter away from civilian habitat and ensured no loss to civilian life or property.
In the process of recovery, the helicopter crash landed, which resulted in the loss of his life,” rented the air.
Archana collected the gallantry award (posthumous) conferred on Major Atul Garje.
Garje was posted for Reconnaissance and Observation Flight. On February 2, 2011, at 8.48 am, soon after take off from the Army Aviation Base, Nasik, the pilot experienced aircraft emergency over a built-up area.
This necessitated an immediate force landing. But he continued flying instead of ejecting, in a bid to prevent civilians from sustaining injuries or losing lives as also to avoid damage to property. He lost his life in the bargain.
For this act of conspicuous bravery and supreme sacrifice in the face of adversity and unparalleled emergency, he was awarded the medal.
A year before Garje’s act of bravery, on June 27, 2010, Sepoy Panneer Selvam Rajendran, part of the search party conducting search in General Area in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, encountered a group of terrorists, along with his team.
Valiant fight
During the ensuing fire fight, Rajendran suffered a gun shot wound on his head.
In spite of being hit, he valiantly fought on by providing covering fire, thereby preventing terrorists from escaping.
This brave act of him kept the terrorists pinned down for adequate time, enabling the rest of the party to take position and eliminate the terrorists.
However by this time, Rajendran succumbed to his injuries. His wife Jyothi collected the award on his behalf.
Similarly, three other women –– P Sellammal, Sepoy Nagalingam’s mother, Sepoy Rakesh Kumar’s wife Kiran and Major Bhanu Chander’s wife Vidisha –– received posthumous gallantry Sena Medals at the Madras Engineer Group and Centre from the Southern Commander of Indian Army, Lieutenant General A K Singh, at an Investiture Ceremony on the occasion of Army Day.
A total of 57 awards - Yudh Seva, Vishisht Seva, Seva and Sena medals for both gallantry and distinguished services - were presented at a colourful ceremony hosted by Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area of the Indian Army after a decade in the city.
In an informal chat with reporters on the sidelines, Lieutenant General AK Singh, General Officer in Command, Southern Command said: “So many young officers and jawans receiving gallantry awards, some posthumous, only goes to show how young men are leading in situations of crisis.”
Major General Subroto Mitra, General Officer Commanding of Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala Area (Vishisht Seva Medal) and Colonel General Staff of Karnataka and Kerala Sub Area, Colonel Saish Sudhakar Shete (Sena Medal), were among the awardees.
List of Awardees:
Yudh Seva Medal:
Col Amar Ramdasani (Rajasthan)
BAR to Sena Medal (Gallantry)
Maj Rajiv Shankar (Kerala)
Sena Medal (Gallantry):
Lt Col Siddharth Khanna (New Delhi), Maj Dheeraj Kotwal (J&K), Maj Gaurav Kanwal (Gurgaon), Maj Gaurav Bhatia (UP), Maj Ranjeet Singh (UP), Maj Gurjinder Singh Gujral (Punjab), Maj Mrinal Kumar Shekhar ( Bihar), Maj Sujit Kumar Krisnan (Kerala), Maj Ashish Swaroop (Bihar), Maj Amandeep Singh Aulakh ( Punjab), Maj Madhusudan (Karnataka), Maj Sachin Sinha (UP), Maj Aman Ahluwalia (Uttarakhand), Capt Varun Khajuria (J&K), Capt Rati Kanta Mohapatra (Odisha), Maj Navrathan Jaiman (Rajasthan), Sub Ravi Kumar D (Kerala), Hav Bodele Dharmsheel (Maharashtra), L/Hav Lava KB (Karnataka), NK Anirudh Kundu (West Bengal), NK Pawan (Haryana), Sepoy Bhoopal Singh (Uttarakhand), Sepoy Bhosale Vikrant Hindurao (Maharashtra), Sepoy Daljit Singh (Himachal Pradesh).
Sena Medal (Gallantry) Posthumous:
Maj Atul Garje (Maharashtra), Maj Bhanu Chandar (Andhra Pradesh), Sep Paneer Selvam Rajendran (Tamil Nadu), Sep Rakesh Kumar Gupta (Andhra Pradesh), Sep Nagalingam Pancharnam (Tamil Nadu).
BAR to Sena Medal (D)
Niranjan Rajkumar (Haryana)
Sena Medal (D):
Brig Subhash Chander Rangi (Haryana), Col Raj Kumar (Kerala), Col Saish Sudhakar Shete (Maharashtra), Col Avtar Singh Sekhon (Punjab).
BAR to Vishisht Seva Medal
Maj Gen Balvinder Singh Sachar (Chandigarh)
Vishisht Seva Medal:
Lt Gen Philip Campose (Kerala), Maj Gen Chacho (Kerala), Maj Gen Subroto (West Bengal), Maj Gen Ranjit Singh (Punjab), Maj Gen (Retd) Tajuddin Moulali Mhaisale (Maharashtra), Maj Gen (Retd) Prahlad Rao Muttagikar (Karnataka), Brig Manjeet Mehta (Haryana), Brig Rajbir Singh (Haryana), Brig Kalisipudi Ravi Prasad (Andhra Pradesh), Brig Mangal Murti Masur (Karnataka), Brig Krishna Venkatesh Baliga (Tamil Nadu), Col Rajeev Pawar (Rajasthan), Col (Retd) Vineet Seth (Uttar Pradesh), Col Rajendra Kumar (Bihar), Col Dinesh Singh Bisht (Uttarakhand), Col R Shanmuga Sundaram (Kerala), Col RS Punia (Delhi), Col Anurag Khanna (Punjab), Lt Col Bhavik Kaul (J&K), Sub Chhewang Mutup (J&K)
The following Battalions/Regiments were awarded General Officer Commanding-In-Chief units appreciations
9 Horse, 18 Guards, 125 SATA Regiment, 201 Army Aviation Squadron (UH), 201 Engineer Regiment, 21 Corps Grid Signal Regiment, 5 Assam, 17 Grenadiers (MOT), 10 PARA (Special Forces), 1(I) ARMD Squadron, 16 Bihar.