The state police also got one President’s Police Medal for gallantry, 60 police gallantry medals and 15 President’s Medals for meritorious service this Independence Day, according to the police department. (Representational Image) The state police also got one President’s Police Medal for gallantry, 60 police gallantry medals and 15 President’s Medals for meritorious service this Independence Day, according to the police department. (Representational Image)

In a first, three Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel were honoured with Shaurya Chakras in a year, two of them accorded posthumously.

A release by the J&K Police on Saturday said Sub Inspector Imran Tak and SPO/Follower Ashiq Hussain Malik were honoured posthumously. Head Constable Subash Chander is the third awardee.

The state police also got one President’s Police Medal for gallantry, 60 police gallantry medals and 15 President’s Medals for meritorious service this Independence Day, according to the police department.

Sub Inspector Imran Tak was killed during an encounter with militants on November 17, 2017 in Srinagar, the J&K Police stated. Having received a tip-off about movement of terrorists in a vehicle in the area, Tak and a police team established a checkpost on the outskirts of the city. When they tried to stop the vehicle in which the militants were approaching, the occupants opened fire, the statement said. In the ensuing shootout, Tak shot at the vehicle’s driver but got injured in the shootout.

As the vehicle’s occupants tried to flee, Tak and his team chased them down and confronted them at close quarters, killing one militant. Another was arrested after the gunbattle. Tak succumbed to injuries.

SPO Aashiq Hussain Malik of Chittergul, Anantnag, was part of a joint operation launched against militants hiding in a house in Bijbehara area on June 22, 2018, according to the statement. Under heavy fire from those inside, SPO Malik was able to get close to the structure and engage the militants. Four militants died in the operation. Malik was also killed, the police stated.

Head Constable Subash Chander, according to the statement, was deployed at a joint checkpost in Kralhar, Baramulla district, in view of the impending counting of votes during the urban and local bodies elections in the state last year. During checking, an SUV was stopped and the passengers asked to prove their identity. One of the men in the vehicle took out an AK-47 rifle and fired on Chander, who by then had taken a defensive position. There were eight others in the vehicle, making it difficult for the policeman to engage the militant, the police stated. In the melee, civilians attempted to flee but the militants — two, including the first attacker — tried to take them as hostages.

Chander gunned down the first militant and distracted the second by throwing a stun grenade in front of the vehicle. He then shot and killed the militant. A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the vehicle, the statement said. Chander was previously honoured with Sher-i-Kashmir Police Medal for gallantry for killing a Laskhar-e-Taiba militant in Sopore district.

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