CRPF gunslinger who neutralised 50 terrorists in J-K, to receive 6th PMG on Republic Day

Assistant Commandant Naresh Kumar of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) is a real-life gunslinger and has killed around 50 terrorists along with his team in Jammu and Kashmir. Kumar is one of the most decorated officer of CRPF who has rceceived sixth prestigious Police Medal for Gallantry (PMG). In 2019 the officer was awarded two PMGs on the last Republic Day and Independence Day.

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6 times PMG receipient

The decorated officer said: "I will be awarded the PMG this year for an operation which our team conducted in 2018 in Chatarbal area where our team neutralised a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) top commander Shaukat Ahmed Tak. He was among the top ten most-wanted terrorists."

Kumar also shared his five years experience in Jammu and Kashmir, where he was deployed in his first posting. He expressed his gratitude towards the Indian Army and the Jammu and Kashmir Police that carry out operations against terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir with the CRPF . "It is hard to count the number of operations that I have done but the total number of terrorists my team neutralized would be somewhere around 50 in the valley. Many of them were commanders of Jaish and Hizbul Mujahedeen" he said.

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Officer shares his experience of receiving the PMG

The officer also shared his experience of receiving the PMG for the first time. "I got my first PMG in 2017 for an operation which was conducted in Srinagar in 2016. We had neutralised two foreign terrorists. Similarly in 2018, I was awarded two PMGs, for neutralising two Hizbul Mujahedeen commanders," Kumar said.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval appreciated his operation in 2018 where Ahmed Tak was eliminated by forces, the overwhelmed officer informed. He has been awarded 11 DG CRPF Commendation Disc, two J-K Police medals and NIA appreciations on several occasions.  Naresh's wife Sheetal Rawat  is also an Assistant Commandant in the CRPF and is deployed in Kashmir with him while his father had also retired from the Indian Army. The officer  was recently posted out of Kashmir.

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Director General, CRPF congratulates medal winners

Dr AP Maheshwari, DG, CRPF, has congratulated the 76 CRPF medal winners and their families. Offering sincere salute to the families of martyrs, Dr Maheshwari expressed his deep gratitude to the brave hearts for "keeping the CRPF flag high." As announced by the government on the eve of the 71st Republic Day today, four brave-hearts of the force have been posthumously awarded the prestigious Gallantry Medals. As many as 62 force personnel have also been awarded Service Medals, among which are seven CRPF officers, who have been recognised by the nation more than once.

(With inputs from ANI)

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