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Ashoka Chakra for two fallen bravehearts on Republic Day
Major Mukund Varadarajan and Naik Neeraj Kumar Singh were Monday
posthumously awarded the nation's highest peacetime gallantry award, the
Ashoka Chakra, at the Republic Day parade.
Both of them laid
down their lives while fighting heavily-armed terrorists in separate
gun-battles in Jammu and Kashmir last year.
Their widows received the award from President Pranab Mukherjee.
Varadarajan,
of the army's 44 Rashtriya Rifles, died last April year while leading
an anti-terrorist operation in a village in Shopian district.
A
severely Varadarajan continued fighting the enemy in the operation that
resulted in elimination of three top-ranked Hizbul Mujaheddin
terrorists. He later succumbed to his injuries.
Singh, also from
Rashtriya Rifles, got killed when he came under heavy fire from
terrorists while on a search operation in the state's Kupwara district
Aug 24, 2014.
A total of 374 gallantry and other defence
decorations to armed forces personnel have been announced on the
occasion of the 66th Republic Day.
These include an Ashoka Chakra
(to Singh as Varadarajan's award had been announced on Independence Day
last year), three Kirti Chakras, 12 Shaurya Chakras, 48 Sena Medals
(Gallantry), two Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry), 11 Vayu Sena Medals
(Gallantry), 28 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, three Uttam Yudh Seva
Medals, three Bar to Ati Vishisht Seva Medals, 53 Ati Vishisht Seva
Medals, 13 Yudh Seva Medals, 42 Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty), eight
Nao Sena Medals (Devotion to Duty), 19 Vayu Sena Medals (Devotion to
Duty), four Bars to Vishisht Seva Medals and 124 Vishisht Seva Medals.