Srinagar, Aug 14 (KNO): Jammu & Kashmir Police has once again emerged as the country’s most decorated police force, bagging 127 Gallantry Medals — the highest for any police force or state/UT, on the occasion of Independence Day 2025.
According to figures released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and accessed by the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), out of 233 Gallantry Medals awarded nationwide this year, 152 went to personnel serving in Jammu and Kashmir, with J&K Police securing 127, followed by CRPF with 20, Uttar Pradesh Police with 17, BSF with 16, and Chhattisgarh Police with 14.
The figures show that this year’s overall tally of medals across police, fire, home guard & civil defence, and correctional services stood at 1,090, comprising 233 Gallantry Medals (GM), 99 President’s Medals for Distinguished Service (PSM), and 758 Medals for Meritorious Service (MSM).
Prominent among the J&K awardees are Sujeet Kumar, IPS; Senior Superintendent of Police Srinagar, Dr G. V Sundeep Chakravarthy; Iftikhar Talib, Superintendent of Police — recipient of the rare Third Bar to the Gallantry Medal for repeated acts of gallantry; and Late DySP Humayun Muzammil — posthumously honoured with the First Bar to the Gallantry Medal for supreme sacrifice.
Also among the awardees is Dr Hilal Khaliq Bhat, Superintendent of Police (SP). The Fire & Emergency Services (F&ES) J&K also had a proud moment with Noor Alam Jatla, Sub Officer, being awarded the Gallantry Medal 2025, recognising his bravery and commitment in life-saving operations.
The full list of 127 J&K Police Gallantry Medal awardees is as follows:
A total of 25 Head Constables (HC): Nazir Ahmad Wani, Nisar Maqbool, Maajid Afzal Wani (1st Bar), Manzoor Ahmad Malik, Bilal Ahmad, Karan Singh, Ishfaq Ahmad Wani, Ab. Majid War, Agya Singh, Mohd Rafiq, Khalil Ahmed, Gayour-ul-Haq, Ali Mohd Sofi, Koshal Sharma, Yashpaul Singh, Ab. Qayoom Wani, Farooq Ahmad Awan (3rd Bar), Ravees Ahmad, Javed Iqbal, Zahoor Ahmad Wani, Mohd Shafi Dar, Khurshid Ahmed, Fayaz Ahmad, Javid Ahmad Shah.
Four Superintendents of Police (SP): Iftikhar Talib (3rd Bar), Sajjad Ahmad Shah, Naresh Singh, and Mamta Sharma.
Eleven Deputy Superintendents of Police (DySP): Shabir Ahmad Khan (1st Bar), Late Humayun Muzammil (1st Bar, Posthumous), Manoj Kumar, Mohan Lal (1st & 2nd Bar), Chhabil Singh, Raiz Ahmed, Shukat Rafiq Wani, Mohd Ameen Bhat, Raja Majid Batt (GM & 1st Bar), Sarfaraz Bashir Ganai (1st Bar), Hilal Khaliq Bhat.
Three Senior Superintendents of Police (SSP): Sahil Sarangal, IPS; G. V Sundeep Chakravarthy, IPS; Yougal Kumar (1st Bar).
Five Inspectors: Naseer Ahmad Malik, Arif Ahmad Sheikh, Zaffar Iqbal Dar, Zia-ur-Rehman, and Arjun Magotra.
Nine Sub-Inspectors (SI/PSI): Sheikh Abid, Zahoor Ahmed Khan, Rouf Ahmad Doom, Sheikh Wakeel Ahmad, Azad Ahmad Naik, Ishtiyak Latif Qureshi, Nitish Khajuria, Kashmir Singh.
Nine Assistant Sub-Inspectors (ASI): Mohd Sadeeq, Narinder Singh, Ghulam Mohd, Azad Ahmad Naik, Davinder Kumar, Dawood Ahmad, Tanveer Mohd Bhat, Subash Chander, Zahoor Ahmad.
Twenty-five Selection Grade Constables (SgCT): Swarn Singh, Deepak Kumar, Rouf Ahmad Mir, Reyaz Hussain Shah, Naseer Ahmad Bhat (1st Bar), Shabir Ahmad Malik, Nassar Ahmad Shah, Manzoor Ahmad Reshi, Sajad Mohiuddin, Asif Rashid Bhat, Bilal Ahmad, Shakeel Ahmad Wani, Khushi Ram, Ab. Hamid Malik, Pervinder Singh, Mohinder Kumar, Mohd Younis Rather, Sandeep Kumar, Shabir Ahmed, Shamim Ahmad Kooli, Sajad Hussain Malik, Bashir Ahmad, Rayees Ahmad Ganie, Mahesh Chander, Shabaz Ahmad Ganai.
Thirty-two Constables: Mohammad Iqbal Mir, Dawood Ahmad Mir, Sami-Ullah Shah, Mushtaq Ahmad Theekri, Abdul Rouf Wani, Showkat Ahmad Dar, Taveer Ahmad Dar, Ghulam Mohammad Ganaie, Abid Nazir, Masroor Ali Thakroo, Zulfqar Ali, Jasvir Singh, Reshav Kumar, Ajit Kumar, Arshid Ahmad Sheikh, Liyakat Ahmad Khatana, Rakeeb Ahmad Malik, Mukesh Kumar, Javaid Abass Mattoo, Mukhtar Ahmad Lone, Ummar Majid Mir, Gh. Hassan Mir, Basharat Ahmad Ganie, Rayaz Ahmad Wani, Sukhdev Singh.
Three Followers: Ab. Rashid Dar, Ab. Latif Ganai, Ghulam Jeelani Gojar.
It is worth mentioning that police officials hailed the recognition as a “powerful reminder of the selfless dedication and bravery” of the force, serving in one of the most volatile and high-threat regions in the country.
Kashmir Zone Police also shared on X: “J&K Police congratulates all its officers & jawans who have been honoured with the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service, Police Medal for Meritorious Service, and Police Medal for Gallantry. Their exemplary service stands as an inspiring example of duty.”—(KNO)