25 Odisha Cops Get Home Minister's Spl Op Medal For Bringing Down 5 Naxals

Bhubaneswar: 25 police officers from Odisha on Thursday were decorated with the first 'Home Minister's Special Operation Medal' for their operation in which five Maoists were killed in Koraput on May 8, 2019.

The officers include SP Kanwar Vishal Singh, Additional SP Niranjan Sahu, SI Manoj Pradhan, Deputy Subedar Lakhindas Singh among others.

It is pertinent to mention here that at least five Maoists, including three women cadres, were gunned down in an encounter with security personnel in Koraput district on May 8, 2019.

The encounter took place in a forest under Padua police station limits in the morning when personnel of the Special Operations Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) were conducting a combing operation in the area.

Earlier, Home Minister Rajnath Singh had approved institution of ‘Home Minister’s Special Operation Medals’ to honour officers of State police, paramilitary forces and other security agencies engaged in special operations.

Apart from Odisha Police, a 16-member team of border guarding force ITBP has also been decorated with the 'Home Minister's Special Operation Medal' for their special operation to retrieve bodies of seven mountaineers from the higher reaches of Uttarakhand a few months back.