Lance Naik Mohan Nath Goswami of the Special Forces, who took part in back-to-back operations in Jammu and Kashmir which resulted in killing of 10 terrorists in 11 days before being martyred, was on Tuesday posthumously awarded the Ashok Chakra, the country's highest peacetime gallantry award, by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The award was received by Bhavna Goswami, widow of Goswami, at the country’s 67th Republic Day.
Goswami was killed at Hafruda forests in Kupwara district in fierce gunbattle with terrorists, but not before he killed two himself and helped in killing another two.
Army sources said that Goswami had been actively involved in three such operations in which 10 terrorists were killed and one captured alive in 11 days.
In the first operation, three Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists were killed in Khurmur, Handwara on August 23.
Then he again volunteered for a second back-to-back operation in which three more Lashkar terrorists were killed and another Sajjad Ahmad alias Abu Ubed Ullah captured alive during the two day-long fierce fire fight in Rafiabad on August 26-27.
Goswami not only killed two terrorists, but also assisted in neutralising the other two and save the lives of three of his wounded colleagues.
He was awarded Ashoka Chakra (posthumous) for exhibiting most conspicuous gallantry in personally eliminating two terrorists and assisting in evacuation of his wounded colleagues.
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