16 BSF jawans awarded gallantry medals for Operation Sindoor

Sixteen Border Security Force (BSF) personnel have been awarded gallantry medals for their exceptional courage during Operation Sindoor, India’s response to the Pakistan-sponsored April 23 terror attack in Pahalgam. The personnel were recognised for neutralising enemy drones, rescuing injured comrades, supplying ammunition under fire, destroying Pakistani posts, and disabling surveillance equipment along the border.

Five of the awardees were stationed at the Kharkhola border outpost in Jammu. According to the citation, Pakistani forces positioned barely 200 meters from the post launched heavy shelling using flat and high-trajectory weapons and deployed drones. Head Constable Brij Mohan Singh and four constables were seriously injured by a mortar shell, but Assistant Commandant Abhishek Srivastav successfully evacuated them under intense enemy fire. Sub-Inspector Mohd Imtiyaz was killed in action, and the BSF named a post in his honour.

Assistant Sub-Inspector Udai Vir Singh, posted at the Jabowal border outpost in Jammu, destroyed a Pakistani surveillance camera under heavy enemy fire and sustained a life-threatening shrapnel wound. Despite the injury, he continued to engage the enemy and neutralised their heavy machine gun nest, ensuring uninterrupted domination by Indian forces. ASI Rajappa B.T. and Constable Manohar Xalxo were recognised for resupplying ammunition to frontline troops at Karotana Khurd, Karotana Forward, and Suchetagarh under 82mm mortar and machine gun fire. Rajappa sustained fatal injuries while completing the mission, and Xalxo was wounded in his right hand.

Assistant Commandant Alok Negi led his troops at the forward defence line at Mukhyari between May 7 and 10, maintaining operational dominance and carrying out retaliatory strikes using mortars and other heavy weapons for over 48 hours. BSF troops also conducted offensive operations against terror launchpads such as Looni and Dhandhar in Pakistan, destroyed posts of Pakistan Rangers, and neutralised infiltrating terrorists.

In an official statement, the BSF said, “This Independence Day, 16 brave Seema Praharis are being awarded Gallantry Medals for their conspicuous bravery and unmatched valour. Their resolute and steadfast actions during Operation Sindoor are a testament to the nation’s faith and trust reposed in India’s First Line of Defence.” Pakistan’s retaliatory drones and loitering munitions targeting Indian military installations and civilian infrastructure were neutralised by India’s multi-layered air defence network.