Heroes of Op Mahadev in J&K, anti-Naxal Op Black Forest named for HM medals

NEW DELHI: As many as 41 heroes of Operation Mahadev - 22 from the CRPF and and 19 from J&K police — who avenged the April 22 Pahalgam attack on July 28 by working with Army para commandos to neutralise the three Pakistani terrorists who had brutally killed 26 civilians, have been chosen for the ‘Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak’ (KGDP) this year.The J&K police personnel honoured for Operation Mahadev include IGP Vidhi Kumar Birdi and well as SSP and SP-level officers; the CRPF contingent of 22 awardees is led by assistant commandant Vinod Kumar.The KGDPs - conferred in special operations, investigation, forensic and intelligence fields - are announced on Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary every year.Thirty personnel of the Delhi Police led by special cell DCP Pratiksha Godara, who together busted an Al Qaeda-inspired terror module active in Rajasthan, J&K and UP on Aug 22, 2024, will receive KGDP in the special operations field.The list of 1466 medal-winning personnel this year includes 1,001 CRPF personnel involved in the largest ever anti-Naxal offensive, Operation Black Forest carried out between April 21 and May 11, 2025 in Karregutalu Hills on Chhattisgarh-Telangana border; 31 Maoists were killed and several hideouts busted. Also, 221 Chhattisgarh Police personnel led by Addl DG Vivekanand and Bastar IG Sundarraj P have been honoured for anti-Naxal operations from Oct 2024 to May 2025, which culminated in the killing of CPI(Maoist) general secretary Basavaraj on May 21, 2025.

Ten personnel of the Chhattisgarh Police and 14 of Odisha police who together neutralised 14 Maoists, including central committee member Chalapathi, in Gariaband have also been conferred the home minister’s medal. Fourteen Jharkhand police personnel who dealt a death blow to Maoists across West Singhbhum and Bokaro between Jan and April, resulting in killing of senior leader Vivek and busting of 11 hideouts used by politburo member Misir Besra, have also been honoured.Other awardees include 22 personnel of Gujarat ATS and Narcotics Control Bureau who jointly seized 700 kg of drugs from an international drug syndicate; as well as Assam police personnel who busted a jihadi network active in Assam, West Bengal and Kerala, in December last year.