Shaurya Chakra for Navyman Amit Rana: This is what he did to kill 3 terrorists

New Delhi, Aug 14: Indian Navy's Amit Singh Rana has been chosen for Shaurya Chakra for his bravery during Operation Danna and Operation Shok Baba in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Army got eight Shaurya Chakra awards and 98 Sena medals. The Navy got one Shaurya Chakra awards.

Eight foreign terrorists were killed in two back-to-back operations -- Operation Danna and Operation Shok Baba. In these operations, the sailor performed exceptionally, the Navy said in a statement. In Operation Danna, he, as a buddy of Lt Cdr Mahesh Kumar, shot dead one terrorist at extremely close quarters while giving cover to the officer, who shot dead another terrorist, it said.

On September 20-21, Rana was involved in Operation Shok Baba along with the 14 Rashtriya Rifles in a cordon and search operation. There were five to six terrorists entrapped at Shok Baba village and despite the firing of heavy calibre weapons and grenades, the terrorists remained protected in a cowshed, according to the statement. It was at this juncture, Rana and a team volunteered to approach the cowshed with a heavy improvised explosive device (IED), it said.

There was heavy firing on the team, but Rana quickly manoeuvred in and placed the IED at the cowshed, the statement said. "Rana was fired upon but came out unscathed. He was backed by close cover firing by his buddy. The cowshed was blown up by the IED and three terrorists inside it were eliminated," it said.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday approved 132 awards to Armed Forces Personnel and members of the Paramilitary Forces.

In a statement today, the Ministry of Defence announced the military awards on the eve of Independence Day celebrations. The awards include two Kirti Chakras, one Vir Chakra, 14 Shaurya Chakras, eight Bar to Sena Medals (Gallantry), 90 Sena Medals (Gallantry), five Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry), seven Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry) and five Yudh Seva Medals.