20 ITBP personnel honoured with gallantry medals

Greater Noida, Oct 24 (PTI):
Twenty personnel of the India-China LAC guarding Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force, who displayed bravery during the violent clashes and ongoing military standoff between the two countries in the eastern Ladakh region in May-June 2020, were on Sunday decorated with police gallantry medals.
Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai pinned the medals on the chests of the personnel and handed them certificates during the 60th Raising Day celebrations of the force here. These medals were announced on the eve of the Independence Day on August 14 this year.
The central paramilitary is deployed shoulder-to-shoulder with the Army as part of its primary mandate to guard the 3,488 km-long icy Line of Actual Control (LAC). Out of the 20, eight personnel have been awarded the police medal for gallantry (PMG) for their gallant act, meticulous planning and tactical insightfulness and for defending the motherland in Galwan Nalla on June 15 last year, an spokesperson for the force said.
Six personnel have been awarded with the PMG for gallant action during violent face-off on May 18 in the Finger IV area while the rest six have been decorated with the same medal for their gallant action near Hot Springs in Ladakh on the same day, the force had said earlier.
It had said that in eastern Ladakh, the ITBP troops not only effectively used shields to protect themselves but also responded fiercely to Chinese PLA advancing troops and brought the situation under control during “fierce” face offs and skirmishes.