New Delhi: Slain Odia jawan Pradeep Kumar Panda has been conferred with Kirti Chakra, the second highest peacetime gallantry medal of the country.
This CRPF jawan, a native of Rajgangpur in Sundargarh district, was martyred while fighting heavily armed terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pulwama in 2017.
Panda was working with the 132 battalion of CRPF and had joined the paramilitary force in 2006.
The militants had stormed CRPF training centre at Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, on December 30, 2017. Constables Panda and Rajendra Kumar Nain and their commander Assistant Commandant Zile Singh, who has been awarded the Shaurya Chakra, displayed exemplary bravery in thwarting the deadly fidayeen attack that went on for over 36 hours, an official citation said.
He was awarded with a police medal for gallantry on Independence Day in 2016 for his gallant endeavours. In August 2016, Panda had taken on armed terrorists during an attack on Nowhatta Chowk Centre during Independence Day celebrations. According to senior CRPF officers, he kept firing at the terrorists even when his commandant Pramod Kumar was shot through the skull.
