Army Awards heroes

Mira Kumari Rai of Kalimpong remembers her son Roshan with pride.

Roshan, a rifleman with the Gorkha Rifles, was awarded the posthumous Sena Medal, a gallantry award, for killing a terrorist and saving a colleague before dying in a gun fight in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir on November 14, 2006.

At an investiture ceremony at the Binnaguri cantonment today, Lt Gen. K.S. Jamwal, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of the Eastern Command, handed over the medal to Mira Kumari.

This is the first time that the ceremony was held in north Bengal.

Sepoy Sanjib Kumar Poddar of Alipur in Calcutta who was posted at 113 Infantry Battalion of the Rajput Regiment, and Rifleman Rudevoyi Swuro of 14 Assam Rifles were the other two who were awarded the posthumous Sena Medal. Poddar’s wife Dolly and Swuro’s mother Sunali were present at the function.

Sanjib had died while saving families of army officers during a flash flood in the Mal river in Jalpaiguri on May 29, 2006. Rudevoyi was killed by militants at Kupwara.

The GOC-in-C also gave away 25 Sena Medals for gallantry, two for distinguished services and three bars to those who received the award for the second time.

Brigadier Gautam Deb, posted at the Eastern Command, and retired Maj. Gen. Narsinh Sri Krishna Sapre received the Vishist Seva Medals.

Lt Gen. Jamwal also handed over citations to 12 military units including 21 PARA, 667 AVN Squadron, 2 Division Signal Regiment, 11 FD Regiment, 2/1 Gorkha Regiment and 118 Engineering Regiment.

“We are aware of the existence of corridors in different states that are used by terrorists. Talks are on with the state governments to work on strategies to curb such activities,” Lt Gen. Jamwal told reporters later. “We have briefed our political leaders about terrorist camps in Bangladesh and have requested them to take up the issue with Dhaka.”