For the second year in running, a constable of the Jammu and Kashmir police figures in the list of Shaurya Chakra winners giving ample indication that the force is fighting militancy shoulder-to-shoulder with the army.
Constable Raj Kumar of the Jammu and Kashmir police will be posthumously honoured with the Shaurya Chakra, a gallantry award rarely awarded to para-military or police personnel.
Kumar was killed while taking part in an encounter with militants in Poonch district. Acting as a guide, Kumar led Rashtriya Rifles personnel through a dense jungle where Pakistani mercenaries had taken refuge. He gunned down one of the militants before being killed.
Last year, two Jammu and Kashmir policemen had figured in the Republic Day honours list. Both had made the supreme sacrifice in a joint counter insurgency operation with the army.