Kirti Chakra awardee's family reaches Raj Bhavan in Himachal Pradesh to return gallantry award

The family of a Kirti Chakra awardee soldier from Kangra district reached Raj Bhavan here on Monday to return the gallantry award to the Governor as they blamed successive state government for failing to honour his sacrifice.

Kirti Chakra is the second-highest peacetime military award given for gallantry. Ashoka Chakra is the highest honour in the category.

Talking to media before meeting Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, the soldier's mother Raj Kumari said her son Anil Chauhan had died when he was just 23 during 'Operation Rhino' in Assam.

A resident of Jaisinghpur in Kangra district, Raj Kumari said the state government failed to fulfil its promises including naming the school after Chauhan and building a gate in the village in his memory.

Fed up with the inaction shown by successive governments, she came along with other family members to return the award to the Governor as the promises have not been fulfilled even 18 years after her son's supreme sacrifice.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur came to know about the family's meeting and reached Raj Bhavan to meet her outside the premises

Thakur assured her and the other family members of doing the best he can to get the demands fulfilled in this case.

Speaking to the media, the CM said he had just come to know that the promises made by the then state government 18 years ago were not fulfilled.

The CM asked the family to come to his office for immediate redressal of their grievances.

The family said they would visit his office after meeting the Governor.