20 J&K Police Officers Awarded 'Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak' For Avenging Pahalgam Terror Attack

Srinagar: 20 officers of the Jammu and Kashmir Police who were part of Operation Mahadev, have been awarded the “Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak” by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). All 20 officers were part of this high-risk counter-terror operation in which three Pakistani terrorists were eliminated, three months after Pahalgam terror attack

One of the terrorists is Sulieman alias Asif was the mastermind of the April 22 Pahalgam attack along with Jibran and Hamza Afghani. Jibran was involved in the Sonamarg Tunnel attack in October 2024 as well. One M4 carbine rifle, two AK rifles and other munitions were recovered from these Pakistani terrorists.

The awardees include IG Kashmir Vidhi Kumar Birdi, DIG Central Kashmir Pande Rajiv Omprakash, SSP Srinagar G. V. Sundeep Chakraborty, SP Cargo Tanweer Ahmed Dar, SP Zoheb Tanveer, DSP Vikram Nag, DSP Mubashir Naiz, DSP Shakir Hassan, Inspector Taseer Hamid, SI Anchal Singh, SI Firoz Ahmad Dar, ASI Basharat Rasool Shah, ASI Mohammed Shafi, HC Javed Ahmed, HC Sandeep Khujuria, SGCT Varun Singh, SGCT Mehmood Khan, CT Suhail Abbas, and CT Basharat Qadir.

How Was Operation Mahadev Executed?

Days after Pahalgam terror attack which claimed lives of 26 innocent civilians, Intelligence Bureau went all out against group of three Pakistani terrorists who carried out this gruesome attack. For three long month, it was atleast four close calls but a miss for security forces. This operation was on intel developed by IB and was executed by Special Forces of Indian Army - four Para and CARGO Anti Terror Units of Kashmir Police in the forests near Dachigam National Park in Srinagar district of Jammu and Kashmir. Operation went without any collateral damage for the forces and with killing of perpetrators of Pahalgam attack.

Operation Mahadev Timeline   

1. Operation Mahadev was started on May 22, 2025
2. On May 22, 2025, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) received information about the presence of terrorists in the Dachigam area through a human intelligence. 
3. Multiple efforts were made by the IB and the Army from 22 May to 22 July to confirm this information to capture ultra communication device signals in Dachigam. 
4. On July 22, forces got success through sensors and the presence of terrorists was confirmed.