New Delhi, June 8 -- President Droupadi Murmu on Monday conferred seven Kirti Chakras (including two posthumously), 15 Vir Chakras (including three posthumously) and 29 Shaurya Chakras (including one posthumously) during Phase-I of the Defence Investiture Ceremony 2026 held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
The gallantry awards were presented to personnel of the Defence Forces, Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), and State/Union Territory Police in recognition of their exceptional courage, indomitable bravery, and complete disregard for personal safety while performing their duties.
Among the recipients of the Shaurya Chakra were Inspector Laxman Kewat and Inspector Rameshwar Prasad Deshmukh of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Lieutenant Colonel Neetesh Bharti Shukla of 19 Sikh, Major Aditya Pratap Singh of the Rajputana Rifles attached to 44 Assam Rifles, Major Ashish Kumar of 7 Para (Special Forces), and several other Army, Navy, Air Force, CRPF, and Assam Rifles personnel who displayed extraordinary valour during operations conducted between April 2024 and January 2026.
The Vir Chakra was awarded to 15 personnel for acts of gallantry, many of whom participated in operations on May 7, 2025.
The awardees included Colonel Koshank Lamba, Group Captain Ranjeet Singh Sidhu, Group Captain Manish Arora, Group Captain Animesh Patni, Group Captain Kunal Kalra, Group Captain Joy Chandra, Lieutenant Colonel Sushil Bisht, Squadron Leader Sarthak Kumar, Squadron Leader Siddhant Singh, Squadron Leader Rizwan Malik, Flight Lieutenant Aarshveer Singh Thakur, and Naib Subedar Satish Kumar.
The Kirti Chakra, India's second-highest peacetime gallantry award, was conferred upon Lance Naik Meenatchi Sundaram A of the Regiment of Artillery attached to 34 Rashtriya Rifles, Naib Subedar Doleshwar Subba of 2 Para (Special Forces), Major Arshdeep Singh of 1 Assam Rifles, Air Commodore Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, and Captain Lalrinawma Sailo of 4 Para (Special Forces).
Posthumous honours were also presented to personnel who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. The Shaurya Chakra (Posthumous) was awarded to Lance Dafadar Baldev Chand of 4 Rashtriya Rifles.
The Vir Chakra (Posthumous) was conferred upon Sub-Inspector (GD) Mohd Imteyaj and Constable (GD) Deepak Chingakham of the Ministry of Home Affairs, as well as Rifleman Sunil Kumar of 4 Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry.
The Kirti Chakra (Posthumous) was awarded to Sepoy Janjal Pravin Prabhakar of the Mahar Regiment attached to 1 Rashtriya Rifles and Lieutenant Shashank Tiwari of the Army Service Corps attached to 1 Sikkim Scouts, in recognition of their exceptional bravery and sacrifice.
The ceremony honoured the unwavering commitment and courage of India's security personnel, acknowledging their extraordinary service in safeguarding the nation's integrity and security under the most challenging circumstances.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.