BSF honours 67 personnel on 80th Independence Day, 20 get gallantry medals for Kanker anti-Maoist op
Synopsis
Twenty BSF personnel who eliminated 29 Maoist cadres in a single night operation in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district in April 2024 are among 67 honoured ahead of India's 80th Independence Day — a rare public recognition of the sustained, largely invisible counter-insurgency effort in Left Wing Extremism-affected central India.
Key Takeaways
The BSF has honoured 67 personnel with gallantry and service medals ahead of India's 80th Independence Day on 15 August 2025 .
20 personnel of the 94th Battalion BSF received the Medal for Gallantry for a joint operation with Chhattisgarh Police DRG on 15–16 April 2024 in Kanker district .
The operation resulted in the elimination of 29 hard-core Maoist cadres and recovery of a large arms cache.
5 senior officers received the President's Medal for Distinguished Service (PSM) .
42 personnel across multiple ranks were awarded the Medal for Meritorious Service (MSM) .
The Border Security Force (BSF) has awarded 67 personnel gallantry and service medals ahead of India's 80th Independence Day, recognising acts of bravery, distinguished service, and meritorious performance. The highest-profile honour goes to 20 personnel of the 94th Battalion BSF, who received the Medal for Gallantry for a joint anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on the night of 15–16 April 2024.
The Kanker Operation
The operation was conducted jointly by the 94th Battalion BSF and the District Reserve Guard (DRG) of the Chhattisgarh Police in the Maoist-affected areas of Binagunda and Kalpar. According to a BSF press statement, the operation resulted in the elimination of 29 hard-core Maoist cadres and the recovery of a large cache of arms and ammunition.
The 20 gallantry awardees are: Inspector Ramesh Chandra Choudhary; Sub-Inspector Alok Kumar (now Inspector); Head Constable/Radio Operator Kana Ram Yadav; and Constables Villayat Ali, Mohd Ali, Golam Ehsanuzzaman, Rajat Singh, Hasimuddin S K, Shrawan Meghwal, Prem Sagar, Prassanna Chettri, Sagar Ghosh, Sanapathi Atchhiya Naidu, Adesh Kumar, Bidyut Gain, Khilare Navanath Narayan, Anil Kumar Verma, Sandeep Kumar, Dinesh Khati, and Siddharth.
President's Medal for Distinguished Service
Five serving or retired senior BSF officers have been conferred the President's Medal for Distinguished Service (PSM). The recipients are Mangi Lal Garg, Inspector General (Retd); Charu Dhwaj Aggarwal, Inspector General; Ashok Kumar, Deputy Inspector General; Dhirendra Singh Sindhu, Deputy Inspector General; and Amarvir Yadav, Second-In-Command.
42 Receive Medal for Meritorious Service
A total of 42 BSF personnel have been awarded the Medal for Meritorious Service (MSM) for their contribution across various ranks — from Inspector Generals and Commandants to Sub-Inspectors and Head Constables. Among the MSM recipients are Ashok Kumar, Lala Krishna Kumar Lal, Satyabrata Mukherjee, Hemantha Raju S L, Amitav Roy, Rajesh Kumar Giri, Pramendra Kumar, Pradeep Kumar Sharma, Amitabh Panwar, Balbir Singh, Manish Chandra, Mukund Kumar Jha, Neeraj Sharma, Pranay Kumar, Shivanand Yadav, Vijay Kumar Singh, Vipin Panthri, Yogesh Kumar, Sukumar Pattnaik, and Jaibir Singh Poonia, among others.
Additional MSM awardees include Sanjay Kumar Gupta, Rajnendra Singh Rawat, Rajesh Kumar Agnihotri, Desh Raj Gautam, Anil Kumar Vats, Arvind Yadav, Joy Dev Acharya, Mukul Chandra Deka, Inspector Pappu Kumar Singh, Inspector Sudesh Chander, Inspector Kavali Achyutha Muni, Inspector K P Surendran, Inspector Richard Kispota, Inspector Ranjan Biswa Karmakar, Inspector Shaik Mustak Basha, Sub-Inspector Nemi Chand, Sub-Inspector Deepak Dayali, Sub-Inspector Prabir Kumar Singha, Head Constable Bua Ditta, Head Constable Mohan Lal, Head Constable Prem Kumar, and Head Constable Babul Barman.
Significance of the Honours
The Kanker operation of April 2024 stands as one of the most significant single anti-Maoist engagements in recent years, with 29 cadres eliminated in a single night action. The BSF's annual Independence Day awards cycle is a key institutional mechanism for recognising field-level bravery that often goes unreported in day-to-day coverage. This year's gallantry citations underscore the continuing security pressure in Left Wing Extremism (LWE)-affected districts of central India, even as the government has reported a broader decline in Maoist violence over the past decade. The awards are expected to be formally presented on 15 August 2025.
Point of View
Yet it received little sustained public attention when it occurred in April 2024. The Independence Day awards cycle now brings it into focus, but the delay between the act and the recognition raises a structural question: India's security forces routinely conduct high-risk operations in information blackout conditions, and the awards calendar is often the only public accounting of what happened and who bore the cost. As LWE-affected districts shrink on the government's map, the operational tempo in remaining strongholds like Kanker has, if anything, intensified — a contradiction worth tracking.
NationPress
15 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did BSF personnel receive gallantry medals on Independence Day 2025?
Twenty personnel of the 94th Battalion BSF were awarded the Medal for Gallantry for a joint anti-Maoist operation conducted on the night of 15–16 April 2024 in Kanker district, Chhattisgarh, which resulted in the elimination of 29 Maoist cadres. The medals are part of the BSF's 80th Independence Day honours covering 67 personnel in total.
What happened in the BSF anti-Maoist operation in Kanker in April 2024?
The 94th Battalion BSF, operating jointly with the District Reserve Guard (DRG) of the Chhattisgarh Police, conducted a meticulously planned night operation in the Binagunda and Kalpar areas of Kanker district on 15–16 April 2024. According to the BSF, the operation eliminated 29 hard-core Maoist cadres and led to the recovery of a large cache of arms and ammunition.
Who received the President's Medal for Distinguished Service from the BSF?
Five officers received the President's Medal for Distinguished Service (PSM): Mangi Lal Garg (Inspector General, Retd), Charu Dhwaj Aggarwal (Inspector General), Ashok Kumar (Deputy Inspector General), Dhirendra Singh Sindhu (Deputy Inspector General), and Amarvir Yadav (Second-In-Command).
How many BSF personnel received the Medal for Meritorious Service?
A total of 42 BSF personnel across multiple ranks — from Inspector Generals to Head Constables — were awarded the Medal for Meritorious Service (MSM) as part of the 80th Independence Day honours.
Where is Kanker district and why is it significant?
Kanker is a district in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, long considered a stronghold of Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and one of the most Maoist-affected areas in central India. Security operations in Kanker and adjoining districts have intensified in recent years as part of the government's broader counter-insurgency push.
